Department of Health and Social Care

Dentistry: Training

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the (a) total and (b) annual cost of increasing dental undergraduate training places in England by 40% by 2031-32.

Andrea Leadsom: As part of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, the Government committed to expanding dentist training places so that there are 1,000 places by 2028/29. No specific estimate is available for the increase in dental undergraduate costs, but along with the other commitments to increase training places for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare roles, it is estimated that this will cost an additional £2.4 billion cumulatively, on top of current education and training budgets. This will support a 27% expansion in training places by 2028/29.

Alcoholic Drinks: Health

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities has an alcohol policy team.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent alcohol policy specialists her Department employs.

Andrea Leadsom: Public health policy to prevent and reduce alcohol related health harms is part of the Health Improvement Directorate, within the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. There are approximately 157.7 full time equivalent people employed in the directorate. Resources are allocated according to priorities to collectively address common behavioural risk factors, which often cluster, such as smoking, obesity and diet related factors, low physical activity, alcohol, and drug use. The directorate also draws on cross-cutting policy, surveillance, and analytical and delivery specialists across the Department to support policy development, including on alcohol related harms.

Department of Health and Social Care: Vacancies

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of digital roles within her Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dementia: Diagnosis

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the national ambition for dementia diagnosis rates at ensuring that people under 65 receive (a) a timely dementia diagnosis and (b) appropriate post-diagnostic support.

Helen Whately: The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising the zero to 64-year-old age range, are not large enough for reliable estimates to be made. Nonetheless, NHS England is committed to delivering high quality care and support for every person with dementia at every age, and central to this is the provision of personalised care.As part of the spending review settlement in 2021/22, £17 million was allocated to the National Health Service to address dementia waiting lists and to increase the number of diagnoses, which had been adversely impacted by the pandemic. NHS England will share reporting on the impact of this funding and examples of good practice with dementia clinical networks in March 2024.

Dementia

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the dementia diagnosis rate was for people aged under 65 who had developed symptoms on 23 February 2024; and if she will publish a monthly estimate of this rate within national primary care dementia data.

Helen Whately: The dementia diagnosis rate is not calculated for patients aged under 65 years old. This is because the numbers of patients known to have dementia in the sample population age groups comprising those aged between zero and 64 years old are not large enough for reliable estimates to be made.The dementia diagnosis rate for patients aged 65 years old and over is calculated and published monthly via the Primary Care Dementia Data publication, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/primary-care-dementia-dataThis publication does include a monthly count of the number of patients aged 65 years old and under who do have a dementia diagnosis on their patient record; this is expressed as a raw count and as a percentage of registered patients aged between zero and 64 years old.

Dementia: Health Services

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to require every Integrated Care Board to develop a young onset dementia pathway to (a) standardise and (b) improve dementia (i) care and (ii) support for people of working age.

Helen Whately: Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. The Dementia Well Pathway includes diagnosing well, living/ supporting well and dying well, and highlights that services need to be integrated, commissioned, monitored, and aligned with NICE standards for each component of the pathway. It makes it clear that the needs, wishes and preferences of each individual, including those of working age, should be taken into account in planning and providing their care.

NHS: Vacancies

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vacancies there are in the NHS in each (a) region and (b) integrated care board.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Medicine: Students

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of available medical school places in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cancer treatments were carried out in each of the last two years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what mechanism she plans to use to ringfence NHS dentistry budgets in financial year 2024-25.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Expenditure

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) her Department or (b) NHS England has issued instructions to Integrated Care Boards to freeze any uncommitted expenditure.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health: Screening

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people (a) have undergone and (b) are eligible to receive an NHS Health Check in each of the last five years.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dentistry: Training

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental undergraduate training places will be available to students in England in each academic year between 2024-25 and 2031-32.

Andrea Leadsom: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Blood: Contamination

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what psychological support is available for people (a) infected and (b) affected by contaminated blood and blood products in Glenrothes constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Junior Doctors: Labour Turnover

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many junior doctors left the NHS workforce in each of the last five years.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mental Health Services: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of patients (a) waiting for mental healthcare and (b) on NHS waiting lists for physical conditions who are also waiting for mental healthcare.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Agency Workers

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much NHS England spent on agency staff in each year since 2010.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Infant Mortality and Miscarriage: Disadvantaged

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that a commitment to reducing inequalities in (a) pregnancy loss and (b) baby deaths is included in the next Three year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services.

Maria Caulfield: The Government is committed to tackling and reducing disparities in health outcomes, and works closely with NHS England to improve equity for mothers and babies, and race equality for staff. A central ambition of the National Health Services’ three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services is to reduce inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes for women and babies. This plan is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/three-year-delivery-plan-for-maternity-and-neonatal-services/There are no current plans to revise the three-year plan, and NHS England are focused on delivering the existing commitments, including those relating to inequalities in still birth and neonatal death.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2023 to Question 1672 on Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's statement of 1 September 2023 on a respiratory syncytial virus immunisation programme for infants and older adults.

Maria Caulfield: Officials across the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England are continuing to develop options and plans based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice, regarding expanded respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunisation programmes to protect infants and older adults.This is taking into account clinical and operational factors, such as timing and coordination with other national immunisation programmes. As part of this work, the Government is engaging the market on its requirements for products that would enable RSV programmes to be implemented. A final decision on these programmes will be taken following the outcome of this process.

Blood: Contamination

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who were (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions by the NHS in South Antrim constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products and given contaminated blood transfusions by the National Health Service in the South Antrim constituency, nor has it made an estimate of the numbers of these people who have since died.

Blood: Contamination

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who have died since being (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions in Glenrothes constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who have died since being treated with contaminated blood products, or given contaminated blood transfusions, in the Glenrothes constituency.

Blood: Contamination

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of people who were (a) treated with contaminated blood products and (b) given contaminated blood transfusions by the NHS in Glenrothes constituency.

Maria Caulfield: The Department has not made an estimate of the number of people who were treated with contaminated blood products, or given contaminated blood transfusions, by the National Health Service in the Glenrothes constituency.

NHS: Pay

Sara Britcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the (a) effectiveness of and (b) equity of access to the application process for the backlog bonus payment under the NHS Agenda for Change umbrella for (i) the third sector and (ii) social enterprises.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department developed clear and transparent criteria for the application process, which was published by NHS England and accessible to all non-National Health Service organisations. The criteria was agreed to ensure that the funding was given to those most impacted by the NHS pay deal, due to the nature of their contracts and their financial circumstances.Outcomes of applications will be communicated directly to organisations by the end of the financial year. Organisations will be entitled to seek a review of the decision, which will be undertaken by the Department, to determine if the decision has been reached correctly in accordance with the guidance.

Thyroid Gland: Research

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the National Institute for Health Research is funding research projects relating to thyroid disorders as of 26 February 2024.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government funds research on thyroid disorders via the Department through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds and supports research into thyroid disorders through its research infrastructure, namely facilities, services and research workforce, and its research programmes. This includes research on the broad range of conditions that may affect the function of the thyroid gland, including hypo- and hyper-thyroidism, thyroid cancer and thyroid removal following surgery.An example of NIHR research is a study investigating the risks of developing obesity, cardio-metabolic conditions, and risk of death in a cohort of 25,000 newly diagnosed patients with hyperthyroidism, and to compare the risks of these outcomes between all three modalities used to treat hyperthyroidism.The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including thyroid disorders and applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. It is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring fence funds for particular topics or conditions.

Pancreatic Cancer: York Central

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help improve pancreatic cancer outcomes in York Central constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: Working with NHS England, we are delivering a range of interventions that are expected to increase early diagnosis and improve outcomes for those with pancreatic cancer across England, including the York Central constituency. This includes providing a route into pancreatic cancer surveillance for those at inherited high-risk to identify lesions before they develop into cancer and diagnose cancers sooner; creating new pathways to support faster referral routes for people with non-specific symptoms that could be linked to a range of cancer types; and increasing direct access for general practitioners to diagnostic tests.To increase early diagnosis, NHS England is implementing non-symptom specific pathways (NSS) for patients who present with non-specific symptoms, or combinations of non-specific symptoms, to receive the right tests at the right time. There are currently 113 NSS pathways live with the aim to have full national coverage by March 2024.NHS England is also funding a new audit into pancreatic cancer, the aim of which is to provide regular and timely evidence to cancer service providers of where patterns of care in England may vary, to increase the consistency of access to treatments and to stimulate improvements in cancer treatment and outcomes for patients. The Royal College of Surgeons began work on this audit in October 2022 and a scoping exercise in consultation with key stakeholders has taken place to shape the direction of the audit. The first report is expected in October 2024.In addition, the Getting It Right First Time team in NHS England is undertaking a deep dive into pancreatic cancer, which will highlight actions National Health Service providers need to take to improve services, as well as gathering examples of good practice to share.To encourage people to see their general practitioner if they notice symptoms that could be cancer, NHS England runs the Help Us, Help You campaigns, which address the barriers that deter patients from accessing the National Health Service. In addition, the NHS has allocated £10 million to trial innovations that may support earlier and more efficient diagnosis, including a trial for the PinPoint blood test and a new genetic test that may be used as a liquid biopsy for those with suspected pancreatic cancer.

Multiple Myeloma: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many multiple myeloma patients have been treated with isatuximab in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone under the Cancer Drugs Fund; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of loss of access to this therapy on patients.

Andrew Stephenson: Isatuximab, in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone, has been available via the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) since October 2020. To date, 1,703 patients have been registered to start treatment.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its guidance on the use of isatuximab, taking into account evidence generated on its use through the CDF. The NICE has not yet published final guidance.NHS England has been working closely with the manufacturer Sanofi to reach an agreement that will enable access to isatuximab for future patients, in combination with pomalidomide and dexamethasone, for relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma. Access to treatment for existing patients who will have already started treatment will not be affected by the outcome of the NICE’s appraisal.

Cardiovascular Diseases: Research

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help encourage research into cardiovascular disease (a) treatment and (b) prevention.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department funds research into the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In January 2023, the Department updated its areas of research interest (ARIs), which highlight to the patient, academic, clinical and life sciences community the areas where we want to expand our efforts and work together to systematically understand, intervene and improve public, patient, and service outcomes. ARI1 focuses on prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate intervention for people at increased risk of poor health, including cardiovascular disease. Supporting ARI1, the three NIHR Research Schools were awarded £10 million to deliver a collaborative programme of prevention research between 2023 and 2027. The programme will have a strong emphasis on capacity building. It will also encourage practitioners to participate in prevention research as a step towards establishing their own longer-term research careers and help address gaps between research and practice.

NHS: Pay

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications her Department has received from social enterprises for funding for one-off lump sum payments for frontline NHS staff.

Andrew Stephenson: The majority of social enterprises fall within the category of community interest companies, which has been used to categorise the applications. The Department has received 20 applications from community interest companies.

Medical Equipment

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, who the members are of the NHS England high cost devices steering group; and what the role of that group is.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) terms of reference, (b) objectives and (c) deliverable measures are for NHS England’s Device Steering Group for the next 12 months.

Andrew Stephenson: The steering group will be chaired by the High-Cost Devices Senior Responsible Owner within the NHS England Pricing and Costing team. To maintain the high-cost devices exclusions list, the Pricing and Costing team obtain advice and recommendations from experts working in the relevant fields. The members of this steering group will work in healthcare or pharmaceutical capacities, independent of any private enterprise or commerce, and will be from the Department, National Health Service commissioning, specialist units of the NHS England Pricing team, and the NHS Classifications Service and National Casemix Office of NHS Digital.There are currently 28 members, of whom, 14 members are from NHS England, nine from providers, four from representative bodies, and one from a commissioner. We are withholding the individual names and job titles of non-senior NHS England staff members, as well as names and job titles for external members of staff.The steering group provides an independent review of candidate devices, by assessing their suitability for inclusion on the high-cost devices exclusions list, based on pre-existing acceptance criteria. A copy of the nomination form for the addition or removal of a drug or device to be excluded from NHS Payment Scheme prices, is attached for your information.HCD_D_Nomination_form (docx, 31.9KB)

Fertility: HIV Infection

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for laying secondary legislation that enables people living with an undetectable viral load of HIV to access fertility treatment.

Andrea Leadsom: We intend to lay secondary legislation in Spring 2024 to update the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which will allow gamete donation for people with HIV, who have an undetectable viral load.

Health Services: Children

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the treatment of (a) babies, (b) children and (c) young people by integrated care systems.

Andrea Leadsom: Organisations within integrated care systems (ICSs) that hold the commissioning responsibility for children and young people’s services, provide treatment to the whole population, including babies, children, and young people. There are various mechanisms for monitoring the treatment provided by different organisations, for example general practice services, including immunisations, are monitored via General Practice Indicators.Statutory guidance sets out that all integrated care boards (ICBs) have an Executive Lead for children and young people, and that all ICB Joint Forward Plans include a section on babies, children and young people.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is due to begin assessing ICSs. The Department has asked the CQC, as part of its new scrutiny, to assess whether each ICS is adequately considering health and wellbeing outcomes for babies, children, and young people.

Electronic Cigarettes: Sales

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the (a) criminal, (b) health and (c) licensing issues arising from the sale of illegal vapes.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to use (a) licensing and (b) planning powers to reduce the number of mini markets trading in illegal vapes.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is concerned about the increase in the number of illicit vapes in the United Kingdom’s market, as well as the access and availability of these vapes to children. In April of last year, we provided £3 million of funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in retail outlets and ports, upskilled trading standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.Whilst there are no current plans to introduce a licensing scheme, we have also recently announced a further £30 million of additional funding per year to tackle illicit and underage sales of tobacco and vape products. This additional funding in England will boost agencies such as local trading standards, to enforce the new age of sale and vaping restrictions.Alongside this package of funding, we are also taking assertive action to reduce youth vaping more generally. We recently published our response to the smoking and vaping consultation, which sets out plans to reduce the appeal and availability of vapes to children, through introducing restrictions on flavours, packaging, and point of sale display. Our response to the consultation is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping/outcome/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping-consultation-government-responseWe have also announced that we will ban the sale and supply of disposable vapes, and have set out plans to introduce a £100 fixed penalty notice for underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. The Government will introduce legislation as soon as possible.

Nurses: Pay

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the data published by the Royal College of Nursing on 8 February 2024 on the proportion of general practice nursing staff that received a pay uplift for 2023-24.

Andrea Leadsom: We hugely value and appreciate the vital work carried out by general practice (GP) nurses. The Government accepted the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body’s recommendation on salaried GP staff pay, and increased the 2023/24 GP contract to provide funding for them to receive a 6% pay rise. We expect all practices to pass this on to staff. As self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, it is for GPs to determine employee pay.

Spectacles: Irlen Syndrome

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether colorimetry spectacles can be purchased with NHS optical vouchers.

Andrea Leadsom: National Health Service optical vouchers are available to help with the cost of glasses considered necessary to help correct a defect of sight. Coloured lenses that do not contain a prescription power and are not prescribed to correct a defect in sight, would not be eligible for funding via an NHS optical voucher.

Surgical Mesh Implants

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his correspondence of 28 February 2024 to Kath Sansom and Ruth MacLeod of the Sling the Mesh Group, if he will publish (a) the patient groups that contributed to, (b) the distribution lists used to inform (i) patient groups and (ii) stakeholders about and (c) a summary of the contributions of patient groups to the consultation.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government is in the process of drafting the response to the consultation on Disclosure of industry payments to the healthcare sector, which will be published in due course. As the consultation response is in policy development, the information requested is not available.

Dental Services

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of units of dental activity delivered by newly qualified dentists in each of the last 10 years.

Andrea Leadsom: Data on units of dental activity (UDAs) delivered by foundation dentist trainees between April and November 2023 is available at the following link:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-contractor-monthly-general-dental-activityData from 2016 onwards will be published shortly.

Dental Services: Young People

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting lists of young people waiting for braces.

Andrea Leadsom: More National Health Service orthodontic care is being delivered, with the Units of Orthodontic Activity having increased by 5.7% when compared to pre-pandemic figures, from 4.1 million in 2018/19 to 4.4 million in 2022/23. This suggests more NHS orthodontic care is being commissioned and delivered.From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards across England. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to involve patient groups, to undertake oral health need assessments to identify areas of need, and to determine the priorities for investment.NHS England has published guidance to support commissioners in taking advantage of the opportunities offered through additional services, which includes orthodontic services, and further services, by using flexible commissioning to tailor services to meet local population oral health needs. Further information is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/opportunities-for-flexible-commissioning-in-primary-care-dentistry-a-framework-for-commissioners/.

Dental Services: North Shropshire

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the demographics of North Shropshire constituency; and what plans she has to take account of those demographics in the ICB budget for dentistry.

Andrea Leadsom: From 1 April 2023 the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to involve patient groups, to undertake oral health needs assessments to identify areas of need, and to determine the priorities for investment.Our plan to recover and reform National Health Service dentistry will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients, and will fund approximately 2.5 million additional appointments, or more than 1.5 million additional courses of dental treatment.Our plan sets out a number of actions to incentivise dentists to carry out NHS work. A new patient premium will support dentists to take on new patients, our Golden Hello incentives will encourage dentists into under-served areas, and we will raise the minimum Units of Dental Activity rate to £28 this year, making NHS work more attractive and sustainable.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Question

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help prevent unreasonable service charges on freehold estates.

Lee Rowley: This Government is implementing significant reforms to support homeowners through the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill.As part of this, we will introduce measures to enable homeowners to hold estate management companies to account for what they spend.This includes giving homeowners more information on what they are paying for, and the ability to challenge the reasonableness of their costs.As Continued at Report Stage, the Government understands the strength of feeling on this issue, and we are considering it further.

Question

Jane Stevenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to increase the number of homes built on brownfield land.

Simon Fell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to increase the number of homes built on brownfield land.

Lee Rowley: We are absolutely committed to building more houses in the right places – that is why we are prioritising brownfield sites in our towns and cities that already have the infrastructure in place to support households.We have set out our intention to introduce a ‘presumption in favour of brownfield development’ to make it harder to block building on brownfield sites. We are currently consulting on this and will report back in due course.

Councillors: Disclosure of Information

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Government response to the Committee for Public Life report on Local Government Ethical Standards, published on 18 March 2022, what plans he has to ensure that councillors are not required to publicly disclose their home addresses.

Simon Hoare: The sensitive interest provisions at Section 32 of the Localism Act 2011 currently allows councillors to request that their home addresses are not published if disclosure could lead to them, or a person connected to them, being subject to violence or intimidation. The Government encourages monitoring officers to look sympathetically at requests for withholding home addresses where there are legitimate concerns.Intimidation is unacceptable and it is vital that councillors feel able to raise concerns about intimidation, and that those in leadership positions in councils take concerns seriously and deal with them appropriately.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Magazine Press

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for and (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Simon Hoare: The information requested is not held centrally.

Evictions: Homelessness

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of section 21 evictions on levels of homelessness.

Jacob Young: The department publishes relevant official statistics and these are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.

Temporary Accommodation: Families

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency and (b) the UK.

Felicity Buchan: I refer the Hon Member to my answer to Question UIN 14761 on 26 February 2024.

Temporary Accommodation

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what the average length of time was that (a) families and (b) individual people spent in temporary accommodation in each year since 2015.

Felicity Buchan: Annual Statutory homelessness statistics (2021-22 and 2022-23) are publicly available at Homelessness statistics and include data on the length of time households spent in temporary accommodation.

Housing: Repairs and Maintenance

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent progress he has made on (a) cladding and (b) non-cladding remediation for residential buildings.

Lee Rowley: All residential buildings above 11 metres in England now have a pathway to fix unsafe cladding, through either a taxpayer-funded scheme or developer-funded scheme. I refer the Hon Member to our monthly Building Safety Data Release published on gov.uk for further information on the progress made to fix residential buildings over 11 metres with unsafe cladding in England.

Homes England: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many staff in Homes England have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Lee Rowley: The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.There is one member of staff in Homes England with the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race included in their job title.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many staff in his Department have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Lee Rowley: The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June. As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities currently has three employees working in roles with job titles including the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gen-der, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Social Rented Housing: Mould

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he has taken to work with local authorities to help prevent mould-related (a) deaths and (b) illnesses affecting people living in local authority provided housing.

Jacob Young: The Government is committed to halving the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030 and we are clear that everyone deserves to live in a home that is decent, safe and secure, and free from dangerous damp and mould.I refer my Hon Friend to the answer to Question UIN 10410 on 25 January 2024.

Freehold: Tribunals

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of tribunal processes against freeholders on the wellbeing of leaseholders.

Lee Rowley: An impact assessment for the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill has been published at: Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament. The Bill will rebalance the legal costs regime and remove barriers for leaseholders to challenge their landlord.

Housing: Asbestos

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the oral contribution of 27 February 2024 by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Building Safety, Official Report, column 237, which party the asbestos duty holder  will be following enfranchisement.

Lee Rowley: When enfranchisement happens a new dutyholder takes over the ‘duty to manage’ under Regulation 4 the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 for the communal areas. Further to regulation 4(1), the new dutyholder will be whoever is responsible for the communal areas as a result of the terms of the enfranchisement.I have asked departmental officials to contact the Rt Hon Gentleman to discuss the issue he has raised in further detail.

Retail Trade: South Holland and the Deepings

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

Jacob Young: This Government is fully committed to supporting our high-street businesses and communities. The Department of Levelling up, Housing and Communities has announced over £62.6 million in targeted funding to South Holland and the Deepings since 2021, including:£20 million from the Long-Term Plan for Towns, with Spalding being one of 55 towns in need of extra levelling up support. This money will help people in Spalding to create a bespoke regeneration plan that best fits their needs;£2.6 million through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support South Holland District Council to invest in their communities and place, support local businesses, and boost people’s life chances and skills;£20 million from the Levelling Up Fund for South Holland District Council’s Castle Sports Complex project which will see a new health and wellbeing centre, and;£20 million from the Levelling Up Fund for Lincolnshire County Council’s A16 Corridor Improvements’ project which should reduce congestion between Boston and Spalding.

Batteries: Storage

Sir Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment his Department has made of the level of fire risk posed by battery storage facilities.

Lee Rowley: I refer my Rt Hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 6137 on 18 December 2023.

Private Rented Housing: Evictions

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many and what proportion of private tenants who were evicted under section 21 provisions in 2023 were subsequently accommodated in social housing.

Jacob Young: The information requested is not held centrally.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what capacity of floating offshore wind projects she plans to fund in the next Contracts for Difference auction round.

Andrew Bowie: The Budget Notice for Allocation Round 6 of the Contracts for Difference Scheme is due to be published by 13 March 2024. Decisions about funding any technology are determined by the available pipeline of eligible projects. The Government seeks to set the budget at a level that supports competition and delivers on the deployment and value for money objectives of the scheme.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate her Department has made of the potential GDP value to the economy of reaching the 50GW offshore wind capacity target.

Andrew Bowie: The Department has not estimated the potential GDP value to the economy of reaching the 50GW ambition. The Offshore Wind Industry Council estimates in their Skills Intelligence Report, published June 2023, that with our world leading 50GW ambition, the offshore wind sector is expected to grow to support over 100,000 jobs by 2030. This will require over £50 billion in construction capital expenditure.

Energy: Price Caps

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with Ofgem on its decision to allocate the temporary adjustment to the price cap to customers equally.

Amanda Solloway: The Departmental for Energy Security and Net Zero’s ministers and officials regularly discuss with Ofgem issues relating to energy market. The setting of the price cap rate is a matter for Ofgem, and the temporary adjustment announced is to address suppliers’ costs related to increased levels of consumer debt. It will be added to bills of customers who pay by direct debit or standard credit. Prepayment customers will not be impacted by the extra charge as many do not build up the same level of debt because they top up as they go.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many private rented properties have a registered exemption from minimum energy efficiency standards as of 28 February 2024.

Amanda Solloway: On 28 February 2024, there were a total of 15,222 registered exemptions from the minimum energy efficiency standard regulations for both domestic and non-domestic private rented properties.

Power Stations: Carbon Emissions

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the System Operator favoring high carbon power stations over low carbon options in the balancing mechanism.

Graham Stuart: The Electricity System Operator (ESO) has a licence obligation to operate the system in the most economic and efficient way possible. The main factors that influence operating decisions are cost, system conditions, network constraints, generators’ technical capabilities, and the ESO’s own operational capabilities. The ESO has an ambition to operate the transmission system with 100% zero carbon for short periods in 2025. It therefore has an extensive programme of work to extend its ability to operate a zero-carbon transmission system across more market and system scenarios.

Renewable Energy: National Grid

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many renewable energy projects are awaiting a decision on their application to connect to the national grid as of 28 February 2024.

Graham Stuart: The latest data from the Electricity System Operator, from 31 January 2024, reports that there were 40 renewable energy projects awaiting transmission connection offers.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Vacancies

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Graham Stuart: There are 19 vacancies in the digital directorate among 178 posts. We do not centrally hold information on Digital posts and vacancies around the Department.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Graham Stuart: There is currently no centrally recorded list of job titles held within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

Solar Power: Land Use

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the amount of agricultural land previously used for food production that is being used for solar installations.

Andrew Bowie: The Department does not hold this information. However, the Renewable Energy Planning Database tracks the progress of UK renewable electricity projects through the planning system. Whilst it does not specify the expected area for each project, nor its previous use, it does provide as accurate a view as possible of renewable projects.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will update her Department’s greenhouse gas removals business model to include (a) enhanced rock weathering and (b) other technologies that do not use carbon capture and storage.

Andrew Bowie: The Government recognises the potential role of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies that do not require carbon capture and storage (CCS) in meeting net zero, including enhanced rock weathering, though specific technical and regulatory barriers must be addressed before any decisions can be made on their eligibility for the GGR business model. As set out in the Government response to the GGR business model consultation, published in June 2023, this includes the need for further evidence on permanence, reversibility, and environmental impacts associated with these methods. The Government is working closely with academics, industry, and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) GGR Demonstrator projects to investigate the feasibility of scaling non-CCS GGR technologies in future.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will update her Department’s greenhouse gas removals business model to include (a) enhanced rock weathering and (b) other technologies that do not use carbon capture and storage.

Andrew Bowie: The Government recognises the potential role of greenhouse gas removal (GGR) technologies that do not require carbon capture and storage (CCS) in meeting net zero, including enhanced rock weathering, though specific technical and regulatory barriers must be addressed before any decisions can be made on their eligibility for the GGR business model. As set out in the government response to the GGR business model consultation, published in June 2023, this includes the need for further evidence on permanence, reversibility, and environmental impacts associated with these methods. The Government is working closely with academics, industry, and the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) GGR Demonstrator projects to investigate the feasibility of scaling non-CCS GGR technologies in future.

Biofuels: Carbon Capture and Storage

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of woody biomass as feedstock for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage on (a) global land use and (b) the availability of land for growing crops.

Andrew Bowie: To ensure that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) delivers genuine negative emissions, Government will require that only sustainable biomass is used. The 2023 Biomass Strategy included an assessment of sustainable biomass availability to the UK (including woody biomass), to support the UK’s net zero target. The availability of sustainable woody biomass was estimated using updated modelling which included considerations of global land use to exclude unsustainable changes, as well as accounting for wider land use pressures such as food security and biodiversity.

Biofuels: Carbon Capture and Storage

John McNally: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of woody biomass as feedstock for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage on (a) global land use and (b) the availability of land for growing crops.

Andrew Bowie: To ensure that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) delivers genuine negative emissions, Government will require that only sustainable biomass is used. The 2023 Biomass Strategy included an assessment of sustainable biomass availability to the UK (including woody biomass), to support the UK’s net zero target. The availability of sustainable woody biomass was estimated using updated modelling which included considerations of global land use to exclude unsustainable changes, as well as accounting for wider land use pressures such as food security and biodiversity.

Biofuels: Carbon Capture and Storage

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of woody biomass as feedstock for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage on (a) global land use and (b) the availability of land for growing crops.

Andrew Bowie: To ensure that bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) delivers genuine negative emissions, Government will require that only sustainable biomass is used. The 2023 Biomass Strategy included an assessment of sustainable biomass availability to the UK (including woody biomass), to support the UK’s net zero target. The availability of sustainable woody biomass was estimated using updated modelling which included considerations of global land use to exclude unsustainable changes, as well as accounting for wider land use pressures such as food security and biodiversity.

Biofuels: Electricity Generation

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she made of the potential implications for the proposals in her Department's consultation entitled Transitional support mechanism for large-scale biomass electricity generators, published on 18 January 2024, of the recommendation on page 142 of the report by the Climate Change Committee entitled Biomass in a low-carbon economy, published on 15 November 2018.

Andrew Bowie: The Government is consulting on a possible transitional support mechanism to support the transition of large-scale biomass generators to power BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage). The Government values Power BECCS as a vehicle for delivering significant volumes of CO2 removals to support our Carbon Budgets and Net Zero targets. We will continue to consider relevant recommendations from the CCC and other parties when determining next steps; no decision has been taken at this stage.

Natural Gas: Disconnections

Mark Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is responsible for hearing appeals of decisions to disconnect consumers' gas supplies.

Amanda Solloway: The Department does not have the legal mandate to intervene in matters concerning private contracts between customers and their energy suppliers. Any disputes should be first raised with the energy supplier, and if necessary, escalated to the Energy Ombudsman.

Refineries: Grangemouth

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had discussions with Petroineos on the potential merits of Grangemouth oil refinery transitioning to biofuel.

Andrew Bowie: My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State met with executives at Petroineos on 23 November 2023 to discuss options for the future of the site, long term fuel security for Scotland, and consideration of jobs at the site. The Government remains committed to energy transition projects across the UK, backing the North Sea oil and gas sector and green industries such as offshore wind and carbon capture and storage, to attract investment and create opportunities for communities in Scotland. Measures like the Forth Green Freeport include the port at Grangemouth, which will enable multiple manufacturing and green initiatives. Any potential decisions regarding future energy projects at the site are a private commercial matter.

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the cost to the public purse was of the energy efficiency taskforce.

Amanda Solloway: Any Department spend would be reported as part of the Department’s reports and accounts in the usual way.

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to increase energy efficiency in the context of the decision to disband the energy efficiency taskforce.

Amanda Solloway: The Government is allocating around £20 billion over this Parliament and next to improve the energy efficiency and low carbon heating of homes and businesses, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel heating and reducing household energy bills.The Government has recently announced further details regarding the £6 billion extension that will be allocated from 2025-2028. This will support an extra 500,000 homes, prioritising those who need it most. The Government also launched the new Welcome Home to Energy Efficiency public campaign, targeting the able-to-pay market with trusted information on the most cost-effective energy efficiency measures.

Energy: Housing

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy's policy paper entitled What does it cost to retrofit homes, published April 2017, whether her Department plans to publish new cost assumptions for its energy efficiency modelling.

Amanda Solloway: The Department keeps cost assumptions for modelling energy efficiency under review. The Impact Assessment for the Great British Insulation Scheme provides recent information on assumptions for different measures.

Energy: Housing

Alexander Stafford: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department's annual delivery target is for the number of households applying for the (a) Home Upgrade Grant, (b) Great British Insulation Scheme, (c) Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and (d) Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Amanda Solloway: The current wave of Home Upgrade Grant Phase 2 funding is expected to improve the energy performance of up to 25,000 homes. The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund estimates to upgrade up to 99,500 social homes. The Great British Insulation Scheme target is set in terms of annual bill savings, but it is estimated that it will support the installation of energy efficiency measures to around 300,000 homes. The annual targets for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) depends on the grant levels at the time, as we can change them to respond to market conditions. The Government recently announced further details regarding the £6 billion extension that will be allocated from 2025-2028. This will support an extra 500,000 homes, prioritising those who need it most.

Renewable Energy: Community Development

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14392 on Renewable Energy: Community Development, how much was paid in community benefits from solar by (a) region, (b) nation and (c) local authority in each year since 2015.

Andrew Bowie: The Department does not hold this information.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Magazine Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Graham Stuart: This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Carbon Emissions

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make it her policy not to carry forward surplus emissions from the Third Carbon Budget into future carbon budgets.

Graham Stuart: The Government has overachieved on all its carbon budgets to date. As required under the Climate Change Act, the Government has consulted the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and Devolved Administrations (DAs). The Government will consider the CCC and DAs’ responses and make a decision ahead of the statutory deadline of 31 May 2024.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Graham Stuart: This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Home Office

Home Office: Vacancies

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.

Chris Philp: There are 2691 digital roles within the departments’ digital function, of which 6% (160) are currently vacant.

Action Fraud

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what meetings he has had with]Action Fraud since November 2023.

Tom Tugendhat: The Home Office is working closely with City of London Police to replace Action Fraud with a more efficient new system that will improve the support services and reporting tools for victims and intelligence provided to forces.The Home Office and key stakeholders across the victim support landscape, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant bodies are consulted regularly on the development of the service by CoLP. This includes regular official as well as Ministerial level engagements from the Home Office.Oversight of Action Fraud falls within the remit of the Security Minister, who recently visited City of London Police to learn more about the replacement service.

Deportation

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the impact of Operation Nexus on tackling offending by foreign nationals; and how many people were arrested for immigration offences as part of Operation Nexus in each of the last ten years.

Michael Tomlinson: ‘Operation Nexus’, introduced in September 2012, was a business management mechanism intended to maximise intelligence, information and worldwide links in relation to Foreign National Offenders (FNOs). The mechanism was used to manage and respond to ‘high-harm’ FNOs, to reduce the threat to the public, and to identify individuals with no leave to remain and liable to removal from the UK. Operation Nexus was a partnership between Home Office Immigration Enforcement and the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).Nexus formally ended in 2019/2020. However, the Home Office continues to work with Law Enforcement Engagement Teams, Immigration Intelligence, Regional Organised Crime Units and the International Crime and Co-ordination Centre in relation to serious harm referrals and to communicate key messages around FNOs.Home Office publishes information on returns from the UK, including returns of FNOs.This can be found at the following link: Immigration system statistics quarterly release - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Palace of Westminster: Protest

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to hold discussions with the Metropolitan Police on the projection of slogans relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict onto Elizabeth Tower on 21 February 2024.

Chris Philp: I would refer you to my response in the House of Commons to the Rt Hon Michael Ellis on 26 February 2024: Topical Questions - Hansard - UK Parliament.

Home Office: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Chris Philp: Home Office staff job titles is not held centrally and would require significant manual collation and manipulation of local data, so could only be retrieved with disproportionate effort.The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.

Protest: Greater London

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has provided guidance to the Metropolitan Police on tackling anti-Semitic (a) chants and (b) slogans during protests.

Chris Philp: This Government is clear that antisemitism is completely unacceptable, and we have a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes which target race and religion. The Government expects police to enforce the law where appropriate to protect communities and maintain public order and public safety.Whilst the police are operationally independent and work in line with the College of Policing’s operational guidance to respond to hate crime, we expect the police to fully investigate all hate crimes and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. Whether specific chants or slogans constitute an offence depends on the specific context surrounding the incident and decisions on arrests are a matter for the police.The College of Policing is responsible for providing guidance to police and are operationally independent from Government. The College of Policing have provided guidance and communications with frontline officers to ensure all officers have the latest information, advice and support they should be providing to communities.On 28 February 2024, the Government published the Defending Democracy Policing Protocol after consulting with senior policing leaders. The protocol includes seven commitments aimed at addressing the growing trend of intimidatory behaviour and attempts to manipulate the democratic process. The full protocol can be accessed here: Defending democracy policing protocol - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).I also recently made a statement to the House of Commons on antisemitism in the UK. A copy of this on Hansard is available here: Antisemitism in the UK - Hansard - UK Parliament

Police: Assessments

Marco Longhi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many serving police officers failed their first attempt at the Police Written Exercise.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold this information.The College of Policing, as the professional body for policing, sets recruitment standards and maintains the national application, assessment and selection framework for police recruit roles.

Cars: Theft

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of policing of car theft.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce car theft.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the trends in the level of cars being stolen by people under 18.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will publish the minutes of meetings he has had on car theft since November 2023.

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of stolen cars returned to their owners in each of the last three years.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime.The latest estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales shows there were 726,000 incidents of vehicle-related theft in the year ending September 2023. This represents a 39% fall, when compared with the year ending March 2010, when there was an estimated 1,198,000 such incidents.The Government is working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime nationally. This includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to prevent theft. A network of vehicle crime leads has been established in every police force in England and Wales, ensuring forces share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and are better able to tackle regional issues.We are legislating through the Criminal Justice Bill to create two new offences where a person possesses, makes, adapts, supplies or offers to supply electronic devices where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they will be used in vehicle theft. The legislation will make it easier for police to prosecute criminals making and supplying these devices, as well as vehicle thieves.The Crime Survey for England and Wales publishes annual estimates on the proportion of stolen vehicles returned to owners which can be found within the ‘Nature of crime: Vehicle related thefts’. The latest available figures from the 2019/20 CSEW, estimated that in 28% of thefts the vehicle was returned to its owner, 34% in the 2018/19 survey and 40% in the 2017/18 survey.No assessment has been made of the number of vehicles stolen by under 18s and there are currently no plans to publish the minutes of meeting on car theft since November 2023.

Police: Pensions

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make (a) a comparative estimate of what the average projected pension of a police officer who retired in each year from 2015 to 2023 would have been before the introduction of the McCloud remedy and associated public service pension changes and (b) an estimate of the average discrepancy between (i) the pension being received by police officers as of 28 February 2024 and (ii) the pension police officers will be entitled to once the McCloud remedy and associated public service pension changes are fully implemented.

Chris Philp: The information requested is not held centrally. The police pension schemes are locally administered by each police force, and the Home Office does not hold record level information.Through the McCloud remedy, each eligible pension scheme member will make a personal choice, taking into account their own circumstances. Given this individual choice and associated complexities, it is not possible to assess the average impact for a member.The 2015 police pension scheme is one of the most valuable available in the UK: backed by the taxpayer; index-linked; and offering guaranteed benefits on retirement, comparing very favourably to the typical private sector scheme.

Police: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2024 to Question 14908 on Police: Wales, whether his Department has provided additional funding to each police force in Wales to implement the redesigned crown logo.

Chris Philp: Cabinet Office guidance advises organisations who want to update their branding to incorporate the redesigned Royal Crown to consider taking a low-cost approach and to avoid wastage wherever possible.Implementation of items such as digital branding can be carried out without significant cost and there is no requirement to update physical items which should only be changed where necessary or at no or at low cost.Based on the advice in this guidance the Home Office has not provided any additional funding to police forces.

Visas: Skilled Workers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to this Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether family members of individuals that met the previous skilled worker salary threshold will remain eligible for the route to settlement.

Tom Pursglove: Dependants of Skilled Workers can apply for settlement irrespective of the salary of the lead migrant, provided the lead migrant qualifies for settlement or has settled.Further details on the changes and how they may affect migrants can be found through the following link: www.gov.uk/government/news/fact-sheet-on-net-migration-measures-further-detail.

Entry Clearances: Gaza

Bell Ribeiro-Addy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision his Department has made for collecting biometric data from relatives of British nationals fleeing Gaza in the absence of functioning visa applications centres in Gaza.

Tom Pursglove: The Visa Application Centre in Gaza has been closed since 7 October 2023 due to the conflict in the region and to ensure the safety of staff and customers. UKVI will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the commercial partner, TLS, to re-open the centre when it becomes safe to do so.Those who wish to make a UK visa application will need to enrol their biometrics at an alternative Visa Application Centre in OPT (Ramallah or Jerusalem) or a nearby country. Customers can visit https://pos.tlscontact.com/ for an up to date list of Visa Application Centres in the region.

Asylum: Housing

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many companies had registered with his Department as having multiple domestic properties available to be used as temporary residences for (a) refugees and (b) people seeking asylum in the UK as of 31 January 2024.

Tom Pursglove: The Home Office does not hold the information you have requested.Accommodation is provided by commercial partners; Serco, Clearsprings Ready Homes and Mears under the Asylum Accommodation Support Contracts. Further details can be found at: AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf (parliament.uk). Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Department for Education

Department for Education: Vacancies

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Damian Hinds: Based on the information currently available, there are 37 digital vacancies that have been approved for recruitment. This is 29% of overall digital roles. These vacancies sit in the core digital directorate and may not reflect all digital vacancies across the department.

Department for Education: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not held centrally. Departmental records are categorised by job grade only.

Vocational Education: Qualifications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much has been spent on marketing for (a) Institutes of Technology, (b) T Levels and (c) Higher Technical Qualifications in each year since 2017.

Robert Halfon: From January 2022, the department has moved away from delivering individual campaigns for each policy product and started delivery of joined up, audience-led campaigns under the banner of Skills for Life, which covers T Levels, Institutes of Technology, Higher Technical Qualifications and others. Up to and including the 2020/21 financial year, there was a T Level specific marketing campaign with incurred costs of £400,000 in the 2018/19 financial year, £2,667,975 in the 2019/20 financial year and £4,109,207 in the 2020/21 financial year.  The Skills for Life campaign is ongoing. The overall spend for 2023/24 was £12,085,527, as detailed in my response to 7043 on 8 January 2024, which is available at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-12-14/7043. For the 2021/22 financial year the overall spend was £4,092,000. In the 2022/23 financial year overall spend was £12,400,000.

Local Skills Improvement Plans

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department will place details of the projects funded by the Local Skills Improvement Fund in the Library of the House of Commons.

Robert Halfon: The department has published information about the local skills improvement fund (LSIF) awards that have been made to further education colleges and training providers in each area of England, as well as the sectors that the funding will support. The LSIF awards for 2023 to 2025 are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-skills-improvement-fund-lsif-lead-providers-2023-to-2025/lead-applicants-for-lsif-by-region. There are no plans to place details of the individual projects funded by the LSIF in the House Library. Where up to date project-specific information is required, it is recommended that contact is made with the lead applicant for the area, whose name is published on GOV.UK.

Free School Meals: Eligibility

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of permitting the proactive use of data by local authorities to identify and register children eligible for free school meals.

Damian Hinds: Maximising the take up of free school meals is important in ensuring that as many eligible children as possible benefit from a healthy and nutritious meal. The department aims to make it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility.To support this, an Eligibility Checking System has been provided to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities.The department has looked at this issue and considers there to be merit in local authorities exploring initiatives to maximise take up and to better understand the barriers that prevent such take up, whilst ensuring adherence to legal and data protection constraints.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Magazine Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Fay Jones: Nothing. The Office of the Secretary of State for Wales (OSSW) has not allocated or spent any money on subscriptions to magazines in the last three financial years.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

UNRWA: Finance

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2023 to Question 15371 on UNRWA: Finance, whether his Department held discussions with UNWRA on the allegations before funding was suspended.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, called the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, on 26 January to report the allegations and to outline the actions UNRWA had taken.As we have set out, we are pressing the UN Office of Internal Oversight and Catherine Colonna, who is leading the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General, to produce a rapid interim report into these appalling allegations. We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again. We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion - not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza.

Egypt: Human Rights

Claire Hanna: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his Egyptian counterpart on (a) the arbitrary detainment of prisoners and (b) alleged human rights abuses in prisons in that country.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government raises human rights issues in Egypt with Egyptian counterparts in London and Cairo, privately and publicly. We want to see more political progress and better protection of human rights in Egypt, including implementation of the rights guaranteed by Egypt's constitution, which are essential for Egypt's long-term stability. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon most recently discussed both arbitrary detention of prisoners and alleged human rights abuses in prisons with the Egyptian Ambassador on 20 February. In March and September 2023, we raised human rights in Egypt through our Item 4 statements at the Human Rights Council. The FCDO has also raised concerns regarding inadequate prison conditions in our Annual Human Rights and Democracy Reports 2022 and 2023.

Morocco: Foreign Relations

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what progress he has made on arranging a meeting between the Moroccan ambassador and investors who lost money in the Paradise Gold and Beach Resort.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK Government remains committed to doing what it can to help British investors who lost their investments in the Paradise Golf & Beach Resort (PGBR) project, and consistently raises the subject with senior Moroccan Government interlocutors on every appropriate occasion in order to bring a satisfactory conclusion to the matter. This has included encouraging the Moroccan Ambassador in London to engage with British investors directly and to the greatest extent possible.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Vacancies

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As part of the 2022 to 2025 Roadmap for Digital and Data, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10 per cent of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15 per cent.FCDO reports biannually to Cabinet Office on our Digital and Data workforce as defined in the Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework. Our last return, in November 2023, had a vacancy rate of 15.7 per cent.

Development Aid: Education

Sarah Owen: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help ensure more of the global population have access to education in their native language.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK prioritises foundational learning (literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills) for all children across our education programmes. This recognises that foundational learning is crucial to achieving higher order skills and reaping the full benefits of education. We are focused on delivering evidence-based interventions. A key part of the evidence on what works in literacy is ensuring that children learn in their mother tongue. We therefore advocate for the teaching of basic early education in children's native language. We encourage countries to delay the transition to another language of instruction to later in children's education once they have secured foundational learning.

Israel: Hamas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the scale of destruction of religious heritage as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets. We want to see Israel using all possible measures to protect the sanctity of holy sites. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and calls for places of worship to be respected.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Carers

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the Universal Credit claimant commitment for kinship carers equal to that for foster carers.

Jo Churchill: No such assessment has been made.

Pension Credit and State Retirement Pensions: Suffolk Coastal

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 15000 on Pension Credit and State Retirement Pensions: Suffolk Coastal, what estimate his Department has made of when that data will be updated and made available.

Paul Maynard: The Department publishes quarterly statistics on recipients of a wide range of benefits, including State Pension and Pension Credit, by various geographical breakdowns including Westminster parliamentary constituency, on Stat-Xplore. The latest statistics are available up to quarter ending May 2023 for State Pension, and quarter ending August 2023 for Pension Credit. The State Pension statistics were recently temporarily suspended so are currently only available to May 2023, with a progress update on their re-instatement due on 13 March 2024. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.

Department for Work and Pensions: Magazine Press

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for and (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Paul Maynard: The attached spreadsheet provides detailed spend on journals and magazines at DWP for the last three years. Journals are in digital format apart from one print title – Vachers.A small number of print journals are provided to ministers and press office along with hardcopy newspapers. The costs of these journals are estimated as they are included in the monthly invoices for newspapers.Attachment (xlsx, 14.5KB)

Statutory Sick Pay

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Q102 of the oral evidence given by Lorraine Jackson to the Work and Pensions Select Committee on  31 January 2024, HC 148, when the constant review of statutory sick pay began; what steps his Department is taking to conduct this review; and what sources of information are included in this review.

Jo Churchill: As with all government policy, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) policy is kept under review. The department through the Joint work and Health directorate, monitors feedback from correspondence and reviews evidence from a range of organisations. The rate of SSP is also reviewed each year as part of the annual uprating exercise. The government reviewed SSP as part of both the ‘Work, health and disability green paper: improving lives’ consultation (2017) and the ‘Health is Everyone’s Business consultation’ (2019, HiEB). In response to the HiEB consultation (2021) we maintained that SSP provides an important link between the employee and employer but Ministers confirmed it was not the right time to introduce changes to the sick pay system.

Universal Credit

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a repayable advance for Universal Credit claimants who are awaiting a payment correction following an assessment error.

Jo Churchill: No assessment has been made.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

TV Licensing: Correspondence

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to ensure that (a) disabled and (b) partially sighted people are not sent multiple letters from TV Licensing.

Julia Lopez: Under the Communications Act 2003 the BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the licence fee, not the Government. Given the BBC’s independence from government it would not be appropriate for the Government to seek to intervene on operational decisions on enforcement action. Nonetheless, the Government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner, and to treat all vulnerable people with sensitivity in doing so.The Government remains concerned that a criminal sanction for TV licence evasion is increasingly disproportionate and unfair in a modern public service broadcasting system. While the current system will remain in place for the rest of the Charter period, our review of the BBC’s funding model will consider whether a mandatory licence fee with criminal penalties is still appropriate.

RFA Sir Galahad

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence about the publication of documents held at the National Archives in relation to the bombing of RFA Sir Galahad.

Julia Lopez: The Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Secretary of State for Defence about the publication of such documents, but the Minister for Defence People and Families has recently visited The National Archives to view some of them.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Translation Services

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department spent on translation services from English to (a) Urdu, (b) Polish, (c) Panjabi and (d) Arabic in the last five years.

Julia Lopez: DCMS does not hold information to the level of detail requested within its finance system or procurement system.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department and its predecessor Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Julia Lopez: The department does not hold comprehensive information to the level of detail requested.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Magazine Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department and its predecessor Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Julia Lopez: The department does not allocate specific funding for magazine subscriptions.As stated in the response to Parliamentary Question 15861, the department does not hold comprehensive information to the level of detail requested.

Young People: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will allocate additional funds to the devolved Administrations for community youth groups.

Stuart Andrew: Youth policy is a devolved matter. The devolved administrations are allocated funding using the Barnett formula. It is for the devolved administrations to determine how much of their funding to allocate to youth provision, including community youth groups, in their respective areas.Future funding for youth provision is subject to future fiscal events, and the Barnett formula will be applied.

Football: Regulation

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 February 2024 to Question 14282 on Football: Regulation, what her planned timescales are for establishing an independent regulator for football.

Stuart Andrew: The Government is working at pace to establish a new independent regulator on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows. We are on the side of football fans and the local communities that football clubs serve. We have a clear plan to deliver a sustainable future for football, with fans at its heart.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Vacancies

Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of digital posts in her Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Julia Lopez: How many roles were vacant: 10.What proportion of all digital posts were vacant: 17%.

Department for Business and Trade

Carbon Emissions

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential merits of implementing a carbon border adjustment mechanism.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Chancellor of the Exchequer engage regularly on matters related to business and trade objectives, including supporting businesses to invest, grow and export.In December 2023 the Government set out its intention to implement a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism by 2027, explaining that further details on its design and delivery will be subject to consultation this year.

Paperchase: Insolvency

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Paperchase's administration and sale on independent (a) small designers and (b) card publishers.

Kevin Hollinrake: There are no plans to make an assessment. Any impact on suppliers as a result of Paperchase's administration and sale remains a commercial decision for the new owner.

Private Rented Housing: Energy

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring that private rental residential landlords provide energy meters that are compliant with the European Measuring Instruments Directive for each property they let.

Beth Winter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring that private residential tenants have the right to request that an energy meter compliant with the European Measuring Instruments Directive is installed in the property where they live.

Kevin Hollinrake: Legislation is in place, under the Electricity Act 1989 and the Gas Act 1986, which requires all meters used for billing purposes to be approved. This includes sub meters used for secondary billing, such as in a landlord-tenant situation. This means that the government has already ensured that where landlords intend to bill their tenants, approved meters must be used.   Meters in use will have been required to demonstrate compliance with the UK Measuring Instruments Regulations 2016 which implement the relevant requirements of the European Measuring Instruments Directive, or earlier GB national legislation if their installation pre-dates that legislation.

Courier Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with delivery companies on ensuring that courier services are accessible for all.

Kevin Hollinrake: Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector and publishes an Annual Monitoring Update setting out key data and trends in the postal sector and feedback on users’ experiences of UK postal services.Under its 2022 Review of Regulation, Ofcom introduced a new consumer protection regulation on parcel companies to ensure all customers of delivery services, including those who may need extra support, are as smooth as possible and their needs are met.

Publishing: Universal Service Obligation

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing the universal service obligation to five-days-a-week on publishers with magazine subscription models.

Kevin Hollinrake: Ofcom, as the designated independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for ensuring the provision of a universal postal service that meets users’ needs. I note Ofcom’s recently published discussion document setting out potential options to reform the service, reflecting changing market conditions and consumers’ needs. All those with an interest in postal services may submit responses to Ofcom’s call for inputs (www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service). The Government will consider any recommendations that Ofcom puts forward, but Ministers are not currently minded to introduce new legislation to change the current obligations on postal deliveries.

Easter

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring into force the provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter from 2025.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall between the 9th and 15th April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book but has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, ‘regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body.’ There is no indication that the churches support a move to a fixed date for Easter.

Export Credit Guarantees

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether there are limitations on how Export Development Guarantee funding is used.

Greg Hands: The Export Development Guarantee is designed to support lending to exporters for general working capital or capital expenditure purposes. There is no requirement to limit the use of such funds, but specific features of a transaction, for example if the Export Development Guarantee loan is intended for a specific investment, may make this necessary.

Scallops: Isle of Man

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to her Department's press release entitled UK businesses welcome protection for iconic British food and drink in Japan, published on 27 February 2024, what is the status of the application for the provision of protected status to Isle of Man Queenies.

Greg Hands: Under the UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, the Intellectual Property provisions do not extend to the Crown Dependencies. Therefore, at present there is no application for the protection of Isle of Man Queenies in Japan. Isle of Man Queenies remain fully protected in the UK.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Vacancies

Pat McFadden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department were vacant on 26 February 2024.

Alex Burghart: As at 31 January 2024, approximately 11.2% of Digital roles were vacant across the Cabinet Office and were either in an active or planned recruitment stage, showing we are making good progress towards reaching the 10% target by 2025 set by the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data. The majority of these roles sit within Cabinet Office Digital, Government Digital Service and Central Digital and Data Office.We set this target to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer money. Overall good progress has been made, with total vacancies across the Civil Service now at 15%.In order to improve recruitment success and fill existing vacancies CDDO has:recently launched its Government Digital and Data Civil Service Careers (https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/professions/working-in-digital-data-and-technology/) webpage to attract new talent to the Civil Service. The webpage showcases secondment opportunities, talent programmes and digital and data jobs available in departments.developed a digital and data pay framework that enables departments to pay more competitive market rates to attract specialist digital and data skills. Participating departments can fund higher civil service pay allowances from savings flowing from reducing their contingent labour headcount.

Cabinet Office: Press

Pat McFadden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Pat McFadden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much funding his Department has (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Alex Burghart: The requested information is not centrally held, and complying with this request would incur a disproportionate cost to the department.

Blood: Contamination

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of how many people would be eligible for compensation under the terms of the recommendations of the second interim report of Infected Blood Inquiry, published on 5 April 2023, in Glenrothes constituency.

Peter Grant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have received interim compensation payments as a result of (a) their infection and (b) their family member’s infection resulting from contaminated blood or blood products in Glenrothes constituency.

John Glen: The Statistical Expert Group, established by the Infected Blood Inquiry, has provided valuable insight into the numbers of infections from blood and blood products in the UK between 1970 and 1991 and subsequent survival rates. Since October 2022, the Government has paid over £400 million in interim compensation payments to those infected or bereaved partners registered with the UK Infected Blood Support Schemes, totalling over 4,000 individuals. However, the requested information is not available by Parliamentary constituency. There is also considerable uncertainty over the number of people, especially those affected, who might be eligible under Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations. Therefore I am not able to provide a substantive response to the Honourable Member’s questions on his constituency.

Infected Blood Inquiry

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2024 to Question 14606 on Infected Blood Inquiry, for what reason his Department has chosen not to publish the names of members of the expert group.

John Glen: Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery has been appointed as the chair of the expert group to advise on the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. The names of the other members of the expert group will not be disclosed to safeguard the privacy and ability of experts to continue their frontline clinical roles whilst advising on Government policy.

Overseas Trade: Western Sahara

Alan Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 12605 on Overseas Trade: Morocco, what value of goods was (a) imported from and (b) exported to the occupied territory of Western Sahara in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.

John Glen: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 23rd February is attached.UK Statistics Authority (pdf, 103.9KB)

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Magazine Press

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for and (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Anthony Browne: The information requested can only be provided at disproportionate cost. In the central Department for Transport, subscriptions for magazines are managed and budgeted for individually by each team. Therefore, the information is not held centrally.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding for fixing road surfaces.

Guy Opperman: In October, the Prime Minister announced an additional £8.3 billion of roads resurfacing funding over the period 2023/24 to 2033/34, with £150 million being made available in both this financial year and the next. This funding, made possible by reallocating funds from the HS2 programme, is enough to enable local highways authorities across England to resurface at least 5,000 miles of road. As roads policy in the UK is devolved, provision of additional highways maintenance funding in Northern Ireland is a decision for the Northern Ireland Executive.

Motor Vehicles: Lighting

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the brightness of car headlights on road safety.

Guy Opperman: Police recorded collision statistics do not suggest that there is an underlying road safety issue associated with the brightness of headlamps. All types of road vehicle headlamps are designed, tested and approved to internationally recognised standards to help prevent undue glare. However, the Government is aware of concerns raised by members of the public and we are examining options for addressing this.

M4: Speed Limits

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria are used to determine when temporary air quality speed limits are used on the M4 near Heathrow.

Guy Opperman: National Highways implemented a speed restriction of 60mph on the M4 westbound at junctions 3 to 4 in December 2022 to achieve nitrogen dioxide (NO2) compliance in the shortest possible time.

Shipping: Apprentices

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Section 4 of his Department's dataset entitled Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2023, published on 22 February 2024, what discussions he is having with (a) employers in the shipping industry, (b) trade unions and (c) the Maritime Skills Commission on maritime apprenticeships in the UK shipping industry.

Guy Opperman: The Department works with the Maritime Skills Alliance who design and promote qualifications and apprenticeships for the UK’s maritime sector. The Secretary to the Maritime Skills Alliance is a commissioner on the Maritime Skills Commission (MSC), which also includes trade union and employer representation. Apprenticeships have been discussed by the MSC, primarily in relation to the Ratings Review, which was published in September 2023. Maritime Minister Lord Davies discussed the Ratings Review with the MSC Chair on 27th February 2024.The Department remains committed to ensuring seafarers have the qualifications they need, and their training is future proofed through the Cadet Training and Modernisation Programme and implementation of the Ratings Review.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the report entitled The path to inclusive footways, published by the Local Government Association on 10 February 2024, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the views of local authorities on proposals to improve management of pavement parking.

Guy Opperman: Local authorities are responsible for parking restrictions and already have powers to address pavement parking by implementing Traffic Regulation Orders. The Department has consulted on further options to help local authorities outside London tackle this issue and has been giving careful consideration to the views expressed by the LGA, individual councils and all other respondents. We will publish a formal response when final decisions have been taken.

Active Travel: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department takes into account local attitudes to active travel projects when assessing requests for funding from local authorities.

Guy Opperman: The Department recognises the importance of active travel schemes that work for and reflect the wishes of the public. This is why funding guidance for local authorities is clear that all schemes must be developed in consultation with local communities, in line with responsibilities under existing legislation such as the Public Sector Equality Duty and Road Traffic Regulation Act. This will enable a range of views to be considered and given due regard. Effective consultation is a condition of funding and it may result in the downgrading of local authority capability ratings if it is not adequately fulfilled.

Speed Limits

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has issued recent guidance on challenging the imposition of 20 mph zones by local authorities.

Guy Opperman: The Department is finalising the details to the guidance update on setting local speed limits and in respect of 20mph speed limits, as announced in the Plan for Drivers. This will be published in due course.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to subsidise minimum rural bus services.

Guy Opperman: Bus service policy in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the Northern Ireland Executive. It would therefore be for the Executive to determine whether to subsidise minimum rural bus services. In England, the majority of bus services outside London and Manchester operate on a commercial basis. Decisions such as where to run services and the frequency of those services are in most places, mainly a matter for the operator. Where there is not enough demand for a bus route to be commercially viable in its own right, Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) have powers to subsidise bus services. Responsibility for securing non-commercially provided bus services sits with LTAs who are best placed to determine what is socially and economically necessary, not central government. The Government provides LTAs in England outside of London with £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) for the purpose of subsidising socially necessary services that would otherwise be commercially unviable, helping to support rural routes. The Government also provides over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through the BSOG to keep fares down and help them maintain an extensive network. Also, we are providing £20m through the Rural Mobility Fund in England to trial 16 innovative demand responsive minibus services to better understand the challenges associated with introducing bookable bus services in rural and suburban settings

Bicycles: Business

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to support cycle businesses in England.

Guy Opperman: The Government is committed to supporting UK businesses that manufacture, retail and service cycles and e-cycles. This support takes many forms including unprecedented investment in safe cycling infrastructure which enables more people to cycle safely; and initiatives such as the Cycle to Work scheme which allows many people to access cycles more cheaply. These and other measures help increase the demand for new cycles and e-cycles, and for the servicing of existing cycles and e-cycles.

Driving: Older People

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure (a) drivers living in the UK with EU licences and (b) UK licence holders seeking to drive in EU member states do not lose (i) licences and (ii) access to insurance after the age of 70.

Guy Opperman: Since EU exit, bilateral arrangements are in place with all European Economic Area (EEA) countries for the recognition and exchange of the vast majority of UK licences. For drivers living in the UK with EU licences, an EU licence can be used to drive in the UK until its expiry, up to the age of 70. If an EU licence holder is 67 or over when they become resident in the UK, they can drive until they are 70 or have lived in the UK for 3 years, whichever is longer and provided the licence remains valid. After this time, they must exchange their EU licence for a UK licence. They do not have to retake their test. For drivers visiting the UK, an EU licence can be used to drive in the UK as long as it is full and valid, regardless of age. For UK licence holders seeking to drive in EU member states, valid UK licences are recognised for use by visitors. UK licence holders who become resident in the EU are able to use their licences in line with local arrangements. These arrangements vary from country to country, with some enabling extended recognition until the licence expires (after which the UK licence must be exchanged for a local licence). Other countries require that the UK licence is exchanged for a local licence within a specified time period, determined by that country. The treatment of drivers over the age of 70 varies across EU countries, however being aged over 70 does not in itself prevent a UK licence holder from using that licence in the EU or exchanging it for an EU one. The setting of premiums is a commercial decision for individual insurers based on their underwriting experience and the Government does not intervene or seek to control the market. They use a wide range of criteria to assess the potential risk a driver poses, including the age of the applicant, the type of vehicle being insured, the postal area where the applicant lives and the driving experience of the applicant. All UK vehicle insurance provides the minimum third-party cover to drive in the EU. With respect to UK licence holders living in EU member states, insurance is a matter for insurance companies within those states.

Driving Tests

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of car driving test slots.

Guy Opperman: The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is to reduce car practical driving test waiting times, whilst upholding road safety standards. As of 26 February 2024, there were 518,517 car practical driving tests booked, and 136,868 driving tests available within the 24-week booking window. The DVSA has deployed all eligible managers and administrative staff back on the front line to do driving tests from the beginning of October until the end of March, which will create around 150,000 additional test slots. To further increase the number of available test slots, it is conducting tests outside of regular hours, including at weekends and on public holidays, and buying back annual leave from driving examiners. Since April 2021, measures put in place by the DVSA to reduce waiting times for its customers, together with the ongoing recruitment of driving examiners, is creating on average over 48,300 extra car test slots each month.

Railways: Safety

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the safety of the railways.

Huw Merriman: The Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the railway safety regulator, produces an annual health and safety report that assesses the safety of the railways in Great Britain. The latest report findings published in July 2023 confirms that our railways remain one of the safest in Europe. However, we cannot be complacent, so the Department continues to regularly monitor safety trends and statistics, working closely with the ORR, the Rail Safety and Standards Board and wider rail sector, to identify where safety can be improved.

Railways: Peterborough

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of London North Eastern trains from (a) Peterborough to London and (b) London to Peterborough were (i) cancelled and (ii) delayed by more than 30 minutes in 2023.

Huw Merriman: London North Eastern Railway (LNER) cancelled a total of 1,151 services on the day of travel between Peterborough and London between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023. This equates to 3.7 per cent of their services between these stations. Over the same time period, 926 LNER services between London and Peterborough were delayed by over 30 minutes. This equates to 3 per cent of LNER services between London and Peterborough. A significant proportion of the cancellations and delays were due to flooding from named storms and infrastructure failures.

Railways: Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the level of funding his Department will provide to the rail industry in the 2023-24 financial year.

Huw Merriman: The Central Government Supply Estimates 2023-24, presented to the House of Commons and published on 27 February 2024 (see link below), details the funding provided to the Department for Transport across a large number of different areas. The value associated with all rail and rail related lines is £33.029 billion, across both Departmental Expenditure Limit and Annually Managed Expenditure. More than half of the total value is associated with Network Rail, with other areas including but not limited to High Speed 2, Crossrail and support for passenger rail services. The numbers in the Central Government Supply Estimates take account of technical accounting adjustments and are not necessarily reflective of cash that will be required. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65dcb981b8da630011c86233/E03059123_CG_Supp_Estimates_2023-24_Bookmarked.pdf

Cross Country Line: Standards

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February 2024 to Question 12442 on Cross Country Trains: Overcrowding, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) overcrowding, (b) delays and (c) cancellations on Cross Country rail services.

Huw Merriman: (a) The Department has authorised CrossCountry to acquire additional trains when they become available from another operator. CrossCountry is also authorised to deploy a number of these trains in 2024 if they can be made available. (b)(c) Train service performance by CrossCountry over recent months has been affected by heavy rain and storms that impact on railway infrastructure causing delays and cancellations, although they are held to account for factors under their control.

High Speed Two: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many staff in HS2 Ltd have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Huw Merriman: HS2 Ltd has four job titles which contain the words “Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. No jobs within HS2 Ltd have any of the words ‘gender’, ‘LGBT’ or ‘race’ in their title.

North Wales Coast Line: Electrification

Mr Rob Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the status of the planning and scoping process is for electrification of the North Wales mainline as of 27 February 2024.

Huw Merriman: We are working closely with the rail industry to develop the Government priorities outlined in the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, which includes an unprecedented £1 billion investment to fund the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. We are in the early stages of establishing the next steps for the North Wales electrification scheme, including the costs and programme for development and delivery. We will share further information when that work is complete.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Apprentices

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Attorney General, how much her Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Robert Courts: The apprenticeship levy for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) is managed by the Government Legal Department (GLD). The GLD also manages the apprenticeship levy for HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI). These apprenticeship levies are combined into one pot and it is not possible to isolate them by department. However, it is possible to isolate the levy fees spent by the AGO to support its apprentices.Between 01 September 2021 and 31 August 2023, the apprenticeship levy fees paid for the AGO, GLD, and HMCPSI were £1,380,581. This includes the 10% government top up.During the same period, the AGO spent £30,173 to support AGO apprentices.Please note that, except for the references to the GLD and HMCPSI above, I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HMCPSI, GLD, and Serious Fraud Office).

Attorney General: Magazine Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, how much funding her Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Robert Courts: The Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) paid subscriptions to magazines provide AGO officials with a valuable resource of public discourse on topics relevant to the Department.The AGO’s allocated budget and spend on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years is set out in the table below.Please note that figures for the allocated budget include magazine and other subscriptions (e.g., newspapers and online journals), whereas spend is for magazine subscriptions only. 2021/222022/232023/24Allocated budget£8,000.00£8,000.00£8,000.00Spend on magazine subscriptions£152.50£145.00£145.00Please note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

Attorney General: Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Attorney General, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals her Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.

Robert Courts: The Attorney General’s Office’s (AGO) paid subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and online journals provide AGO officials with a valuable resource of public discourse on topics relevant to the Department.The AGO’s paid subscriptions for the last three financial years are set out in the table below. 2021/222022/232023/24NewspapersFinancial Times; TelegraphFinancial Times; TelegraphFinancial Times; Sunday Times; TelegraphMagazinesCritic Magazine; Counsel MagazineCounsel MagazineCounsel MagazineOnline journalsN/AThomson Reuters; Joshua RozenbergThomson Reuters; Joshua RozenbergPlease note that I am responding on behalf of the AGO only, and not the departments superintended by the Attorney General and I (the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate, Government Legal Department, and Serious Fraud Office).

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces

Anthony Mangnall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to (a) upgrade military equipment and (b) increase recruitment.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Command Paper 21 made several significant announcements around new and upgrading military equipment and we are recapitalising across a range of equipment. Recently announced investments include Jackal 3, Protector Remotely Piloted Air System, Space Control capabilities and Type 31 Frigates. These choices ensure investment in modern warfighting capabilities that will endure and provide relevance well into the next decade.  For the second part of the hon. Member's question, with regards to recruitment, please refer to the answer provided by the right hon. Dr Andrew Murrison on 19 January 2024 to Question 9841.Armed Forces: Recruitment (docx, 27.7KB)

Army: Vehicles

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the British Army takes into account the size and weight constraints of the (a) C-17, (b) A400M, (c) Chinook and (d) Merlin helicopters when designing requirements for land vehicles.

James Cartlidge: Yes.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Testing

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) tests and (b) trials of uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) that were conducted (i) in-house and (ii) in conjunction with industry were carried out by the RAF 126 Squadron since its formation; if he will list the names of the UAVs; and whether any of those UAVs (A) have been recommended for acquisition, (B) are in the process of acquisition and (C) are in service.

James Cartlidge: Since the formation of 216 Squadron in 2020 there have been no completed tests or trials conducted either in-house or with industry. 216 Squadron personnel have participated in several technical demonstrations as military advisers and subject matter experts in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory.A trial was planned for June 2023 using the Callen-Lenz 'Koios' Air vehicle and the Blue Bear Systems Research 'Centurion' Ground Control Station but this activity was cancelled due to competing resource priorities.No UAVs have been recommended by 216 Squadron for acquisition into service.

Type 45 Destroyers: Antiaircraft Missiles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans the upgrade to Type 45's Sea Viper Air Defence system to deliver Ballistic Missile Defence Capability will achieve initial operating capability.

James Cartlidge: Sea Viper Evolution is the first stage of UK Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) with enhancements to the Type 45 Destroyer's Multi-Function Radar, Combat Management System (CMS), Weapon Command and Control (C2), and the ASTER 30 Block 1 missile. Initial Operating Capability (IOC) is scheduled for February 2028, and the UK is currently in an Assessment Phase for future capability upgrades.

Canada: AUKUS

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of the expansion of AUKUS to include Canada.

James Cartlidge: Our ambition to deliver nuclear-powered submarines for Australia will remain trilateral, however, as our work progresses on AUKUS Pillar Two and other critical defence and security capabilities, we and our Australian and American partners will seek opportunities to engage key partners and allies when and where relevant, potentially including Canada, with whom we already enjoy a close defence relationship.

Antisatellite Weapons: Research

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to support research and development of space-based weaponry.

James Cartlidge: The Defence Space Strategy (2022) sets out the role of the Ministry of Defence to protect and defend our interests in space. We have allocated £1.4 billion over 10 years to develop military space capabilities. This investment enhances operations in terrestrial domains as well as making our space capabilities resilient to a range of threats and hazards. Our goal is to promote a safe, secure and sustainable space domain in accordance with our strategy as well as UK and international law.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of sending a RAF Typhoon fighter jet from RAF Akrotiri on a bombing sortie over Yemen.

James Heappey: While costs relating to individual aircraft sorties are not captured, the Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be identified and reported in the Annual Report and Accounts in due course.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what munitions the RAF has used in Yemen since 1 January 2024.

James Heappey: The RAF have used Paveway IV precision guided bombs.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, where the artillery shells will be produced.

James Heappey: This announcement builds on the highly successful provision of ammunition to Ukraine over the last two years. Some ammunition will be procured in the UK, and a great deal of it will be procured overseas. We have not previously disclosed details of overseas supply chains, and will continue not to for operational security reasons.

Skynet: Procurement

Chris Clarkson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that procurement for the SKYNET enduring capability supports high-skilled jobs in military satellite design.

James Cartlidge: The Skynet programme is currently running a competition to procure up to three Wideband Satellites that are to contain a specified set of technologies that must be UK designed and manufactured. This pass/fail condition will help to secure technological capital and develop the United Kingdom’s space workforce, promoting both the technologies and skills investment in the UK industrial base.In addition, the social value requirements that feature in all Skynet procurements support our drive to bring new people into the UK space industry, by securing industrial sponsorships of educational schemes and through-life skills development. The MOD is working in close consultation with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on a plan for the space industry that will be published in the coming months. This will increase growth and resilience for this vital part of the economy, generating a demand for additional high-end satellite design skills.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications received under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy which have not been approved (a) are awaiting consideration and (b) have been declined.

James Heappey: As of 28 February 2024, 90,695 applicants have been deemed ineligible under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, and 2,151 applicants are awaiting an eligibility decision.

RFA Fort Victoria

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on current planning, whether RFA Fort Victoria will sail as part of the Carrier Strike Group 2025 deployment.

James Heappey: Wider planning for CSG25 is ongoing but credible and sufficient Royal Fleet Auxiliary assets will be available to support the deployment.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy were approved up to 31 January 2024.

James Heappey: On 31 January 2024, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme had received 96,571 unique principal applications. Of these, 4,217 principal applicants were determined eligible.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in (a) Iran, (b) Pakistan and (c) other third countries eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are still awaiting relocation.

James Heappey: As of 28 February 2024, there are 1,254 ARAP eligible applicants (EPs) in Pakistan and 1,037 EPs in other third countries who are awaiting relocation to the United Kingdom.

Air Force: Communication

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of communications between Royal Air Force Quick Reaction Alert Stations in England and Royal Air Force bases in Northern Ireland.

James Heappey: Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft based at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth are kept at a state of constant readiness and can launch within minutes against a threat to any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what military assistance he is offering to Ukraine to help deter attacks on civilians.

James Heappey: The UK has provided Ukraine with thousands of short and long-range air defence systems and missiles, including six Stormer vehicles fitted with Starstreak missile launchers and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to protect their citizens, front line, and critical national infrastructure.In December we announced a further package of around 200 air defence missiles to re-supply UK-developed air defence systems.The UK also continues to galvanise international support, with £900 million having been pledged to the UK-established International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), to assist Ukraine in critical areas, including air defence.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, whether the cost of these shells is covered by the £2.5 billion military aid to Ukraine for 2024.

James Heappey: The funding for the recently announced £245 million munitions package for Ukraine will be drawn from the £2.5 billion of Special Reserve funding allocated for financial year 2024-25.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, how many shells will be procured for Ukraine with this funding.

James Heappey: The Department are engaging with a range of suppliers and the Armed Forces of Ukraine to ensure we maximise the effect of the UK’s £245 million munitions package for Ukraine, announced on 24 February 2024. The number of shells procured will depend on the balance of calibres procured under the package.

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled UK to boost Ukraine's artillery reserves with £245 million munitions package, published on 24 February 2024, when he plans to complete these deliveries.

James Heappey: Deliveries of the UK’s £245 million munitions package for Ukraine, announced on 24 February 2024, will be made over the course of financial year 2024-25.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that an insecticide factory in Al-Nahda in Sana'a was hit by coalition air strikes in Yemen on 24 February 2024.

James Heappey: The RAF targets on the deliberate mission of 24 February were centred on two locations; Bani and Sanaa. At Sanaa targets consisted of very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former surface-to-air missile battery site several miles north-east of Sanaa town, and not in the vicinity of Al-Nahda. Current assessment is that all RAF targets were effectively destroyed with no evidence of civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reported civilian casualties in Maqbanah, Taiz following coalition air strikes in Yemen on 24 February 2024; and whether that target was engaged by the Royal Air Force.

James Heappey: A Royal Air Force Typhoon package carried out a deliberate strike on 24 February against Houthi military facilities in Yemen which had been conducting missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Red Sea. The two sites targeted were Bani and Sanaa, a distance of some 300 kilometres from Maqbanah, Taiz. The RAF did not overfly the area. The current assessment is that all RAF targets were effectively destroyed with no evidence of civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has robust targeting policies which are entirely consistent with our obligations under International Humanitarian Law. UK forces observe all practicable precautions in planning and carrying out military action and conduct a rigorous assessment before and after striking a target. The MOD will investigate any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian casualties.

Ministry of Defence: Public Speaking

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) hiring fees and (b) other expenses on external speakers at events run by his Department for service people in each year since 2019.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which external speakers have given speeches at events run by his Department for service people since 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Public Speaking

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has hired Graham Potter to give a speech to service people in the Falkland Islands in the last 12 months.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence has not hired Graham Potter to provide a speech to Service personnel in the Falkland Islands over the last 12 months.

HMS Prince of Wales: Salvage

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether artefacts salvaged illegally from HMS Prince of Wales and seized in Malaysia are to be accessioned by the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Investigations into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales by the Malaysian authorities are still ongoing, we are unable to confirm the future preservation of the artefacts until investigations have concluded.

Ministry of Defence: Vacancies

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has 925 vacant posts aligned to digital roles which makes up 27.5% as the proportion of the total civilian digital workforce across Defence. Please note that these vacant posts may not be under any recruitment action at this time. As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025. MOD has adopted the Central Digital and Data Office Digital Data and Technology pay framework and introduced a new Digital Skills Allowance in September 2023 across the entire digital function. This is to enable improved attraction and retention in critical digital and cyber security roles. Recruitment using the Digital Skills Allowance is underway, with some early success in attracting external applicants to some Data and Software Development roles.

Treasury

Self-employed: Taxation

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to undertake a review of HMRC's payments on account system.

Nigel Huddleston: At present the Government has no plans to undertake a review of HMRC’s Payments on Account (POAs) system for Self-Assessment.

Fraud: Self-assessment

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the support offered by HMRC to self-assessment customers who have been victims of scams by people impersonating HMRC.

Nigel Huddleston: The HMRC Customer Protection Team is responsible for reporting known cases, requesting removal of suspicious websites, and raising awareness among the general public of how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of fraud. HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the department’s civil and criminal investigations into the most serious fraud and wrongdoing. FIS ensures that HMRC has an effective approach to tackling the most serious tax evasion and fraud. HMRC encourages customers to report scams through reporting mechanisms directly to HMRC or through Action Fraud. The channels through which suspicious activity can be reported to HMRC are: Suspicious emails – phishing@hmrc.gov.ukSuspicious text – 60599Suspicious phone calls – Report suspicious HMRC emails, text messages and phone calls - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Arms Length Bodies: Annual Reports and Finance

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what ministerial involvement there is in (a) setting budgets, (b) preparing annual reports and (c) approving annual reports for arms length public bodies.

Laura Trott: How budgets are set and the process for preparing and approving annual reports for arm’s length bodies (ALBs) are dependent on their classification status and their source of income. Further information on the reporting requirements for ALBs can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/657b04390467eb001355f84d/MASTER_FINAL_DRAFT_2024-25_FReM___1_.pdf Further information on the accounting process for each type of ALB can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a74d700e5274a59fa715592/Classification-of-Public_Bodies-Guidance-for-Departments.pdf

Revenue and Customs: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff in HMRC have job titles which include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact on (a) economic growth and (b) inequality of introducing a higher earners minimum tax rate of 35% for people earning over £100,000 a year.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government is committed to a fair tax system in which those with the most contribute the most. The income tax system is highly progressive, with different rates of tax sitting above an internationally high Personal Allowance.The Government keeps tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the performance of HMRC in answering telephone enquiries.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC takes the quality of customer service very seriously.HMRC is making strong progress improving its customer services, with a focus on encouraging people to deal with them online where they can, by providing quicker, easier and always available digital services.HMRC performance, including adviser attempts handled and average speed to answer calls, are published on a quarterly basis and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

Income Tax

Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the introduction of the Pillar 2 OECD global minimum income tax on the UK economy.

Nigel Huddleston: Pillar 2 will protect the UK tax base against aggressive tax planning and reinforce the competitiveness of the UK, boosting the UK’s attractiveness as a place to do business, and raising over £12bn in the UK over the next 6 years.

Voluntary Organisations: VAT

Simon Jupp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will exempt not for profit organisations delivering welfare services for people living with dementia from VAT.

Nigel Huddleston: VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Whilst there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.Welfare services for people living with dementia provided by local authorities and similar bodies and charities are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged to the final consumer. Welfare services for people living with dementia, provided by state regulated private welfare organisations, are also exempt from VAT. State regulated suppliers are those that are registered with the Care Quality Commission, and are eligible for the VAT exemption where they are providing services that are state regulated. The regulation requirement ensures that VAT relief is limited to providers certified as offering safe and high-quality welfare services. This is a long-standing requirement, and there are no plans to make changes to these rules.

Tax Avoidance: Convictions

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been convicted of offences relating to arrangements which have been marketed as tax avoidance since the formation of HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service on 1 April 2016.

Nigel Huddleston: Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not in, or of itself, a criminal offence. However, there are a range of offences which might be committed by those who promote tax avoidance schemes or advise on their use. Since the formation of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service on 1 April 2016, more than 20 individuals have been convicted for offences relating to arrangements which have been promoted and marketed as tax avoidance. These have resulted in over 100 years of custodial sentences and 9 years of suspended sentences being ordered, the majority of which relate to promoters. Prosecutions are only one type of intervention available to HMRC where they identify concerns.

Voluntary Organisations: VAT Exemptions

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of making not-for-profit organisations that provide welfare services VAT exempt.

Nigel Huddleston: VAT has been designed as a broad-based tax on consumption, and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Whilst there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been strictly limited by both legal and fiscal considerations. Welfare services provided by local authorities and similar bodies and charities are exempt from VAT, meaning no VAT is charged to the final consumer. Welfare services provided by state regulated private welfare organisations are also exempt from VAT. State regulated suppliers are those that are registered with the Care Quality Commission, and are eligible for the VAT exemption where they are providing services that are state regulated.The regulation requirement ensures that VAT relief is limited to providers certified as offering safe and high-quality welfare services. This is a long-standing requirement, and there are no plans to make changes to these rules.

Tax Avoidance

Janet Daby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been affected by the loan charge.

Nigel Huddleston: In September 2023, HM Revenue and Customs published an updated issue briefing on disguised remuneration and the loan charge. The issue briefing contains information at UK level and is available on GOV.UK here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-issue-briefing-disguised-remuneration-charge-on-loans/hmrc-issue-briefing-settling-disguised-remuneration-scheme-use-andor-paying-the-loan-charge#customers-subject-to-the-loan-charge

Self-employed: Taxation

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the impact of paying tax in advance via HMRC's system of payments on account on (a) small business owners, (b) freelancers and (c) other self-employed people.

Nigel Huddleston: There has been no recent assessment of the impact of requiring payments on accounts (POAs) from self-employed workers.POAs have been a feature of Self-Assessment since its introduction in 1996. They are legally due and, despite their name, are not payable before income has been earned. There are two equal payments on account six months apart. The first is payable on 31 January, ten months after the beginning of the tax year to which it relates. The second is payable on the following 31 July, four months after the tax year ends.POAs create a flow of revenue to the Treasury to fund public services. They allow Self-Assessment taxpayers to spread the cost of their tax bill rather than paying in a single lump sum. They also limit any timing advantage gained by Self-Assessment taxpayers compared to other taxpayers, such as employees whose tax is deducted from their pay.Self-Assessment taxpayers (including the self-employed) can make a claim to reduce or cancel their payments on account if they think they are excessive, or no longer due.

Beer and Cider: Tax Allowances

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February to Question 14382 on Beer and Cider: Tax Allowances, what steps he has taken to raise awareness of the change in rules on takeaway draught sales for (a) beer and cider festivals and (b) community pubs.

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2024 to Question 14382 on Beer and Cider: Tax Allowances, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the rules relating to off-site consumption of products covered by Draught Relief on the volume of beer and cider wasted at (a) beer and cider festivals and (b) community pubs.

Gareth Davies: The Government engaged extensively with external stakeholders as part of the development and delivery process for the new alcohol duty system, including in relation to Draught Relief.HMRC has published guidance explaining the changes, including in relation to Draught Relief, and ran 3 webinars for businesses - a recording of the webinar is available at: HMRC email updates, videos and webinars for Alcohol Duty - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). HMRC has also worked with trade associations to ensure they share the guidance with their members.HMRC has also published a tax information and impact note setting out the impact of the measure, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reform-of-the-alcohol-duty-system/reform-of-alcohol-duty-rates-and-reliefs#summary-of-impactsThe Government will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023.

Wines: Excise Duties

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to reduce excise duty on wine.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the impact of raising wine duty on revenue raised by his Department.

Gareth Davies: The Government will make and announce any alcohol decisions at Spring Budget 2024. Duty freezes to alcohol duty over the last decade have amounted to a total tax cut of £12.9 billion to the alcohol industry, including the duty freeze up to 1 August 2024 announced at Autumn Statement 2023.Before Autumn Statement 2023, since ending the duty escalator for wine in 2013, the wine industry has benefitted from cuts or freezes to wine duty at four out of the last nine fiscal events.The latest receipts for alcohol duty including wine duty can be found at the following link:Alcohol Bulletin commentary (November 2023 to January 2024) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Wines: Excise Duties

Neil Coyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the easement for levying wine duty permanent.

Gareth Davies: As part of the new alcohol duty system, the Government introduced a wine easement for 18 months which will last until February 2025. During this period, all wine between 11.5-14.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) will pay duty as if it were 12.5% ABV. This gives the wine industry over two years to adapt to the new system.The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate the effects of the reform.As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.

Public Sector: Productivity

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to increase public sector productivity.

Laura Trott: The government has a relentless focus on getting the most out of every pound spent by boosting public sector productivity and by focusing spending on the government’s priorities.In June, the Chancellor announced the Public Sector Productivity Programme as a means of assessing how productivity can be improved and to ensure the long-term sustainability of our public services.The programme has focused on embracing the opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence, reducing the amount of time our key frontline workers spend on administrative tasks and strengthening preventive action to reduce demand on public services.

Beer and Cider: Excise Duties

Claire Hanna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will increase the value of draught relief to 20% for qualifying beer and cider products in the spring Budget 2024.

Gareth Davies: Draught Relief, introduced under the new alcohol duty system, provides a reduction in the duty on draught beer and cider by 9.2% and helps to level the playing field between pubs and supermarkets, allowing pubs and brewers to price their on-trade products more competitively. The Brexit Pubs Guarantee ensures that draught products will always be subject to lower duty than their supermarket equivalent.The Government is closely monitoring the impact of the recent reforms and will evaluate the impact of the new rates and structures three years after the changes took effect on 1 August 2023. This will allow time to understand the impacts on the alcohol market, and for HMRC to gather useful and accurate data with which to evaluate the effects of the reform.The Government is unable to speculate on tax matters outside of fiscal events.  As with all taxes, the Government keeps the alcohol duty system under review during its yearly Budget process.

Public Sector: Productivity

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of trends in public sector productivity since 2019.

Laura Trott: ONS publish annual National Statistics on public service productivity up to 2020. The next annual statistic for 2021 will be published on 26 March. ONS also publish estimates of public service productivity which currently include annual estimates for 2021 and 2022 and quarterly estimates up to 2023 Q3. These are official statistics in development.

Treasury: Vacancies

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of digital roles within his Department were vacant as of 26 February 2024.

Gareth Davies: As part of the 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, all departments made a commitment to reduce their digital and data vacancies to under 10% of total Government Digital and Data headcount by 2025This is to drive modernisation and digitisation in Government, improving public services for the British people and saving taxpayer moneyOverall good progress has been made, with total vacancies now at 15%The Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework, defining the scope of the digital and data profession, outlines capability standards for roles and skills in the profession. It enables professionals, line managers and hiring managers to have a common understanding of roles and provides a strong foundation for recruitmentIn our latest assessment in October 2023, we had 11 vacancies which is 13% of Digital roles in HM Treasury.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Government Departments: Carbon Emissions

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the carbon dioxide output of the Government estate was in (a) 2019 and (b) 2024.

Rebecca Pow: Since 2011 the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) have set targets for greening the government estate and reported progress against them. In financial year 2018-2019 the estate within the scope of the GGCs emitted 1,641,131 tonnes of CO2, 46% less than financial year 2009-2010. Full data is available in the 2018-2019 Greening Government Commitments annual report. We will continue publishing CO2 emissions data in future GGCs annual reports. Data for financial year 2020-2021 is the latest year for which data is available and can be accessed here.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Technology: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the (a) implications for her policies and (b) potential impact on investment in the UK by high-growth technology SMEs of the agreement between the European Investment Fund and Inveready Asset Management, signed on 6 June 2023.

Saqib Bhatti: The agreement between the European Investment Fund and Inveready Asset Management is not expected to have a significant impact on UK tech investment given its scale and focus on Spanish companies. The Government has taken significant action over the last year to generate additional investment into high-growth UK companies. This includes the Mansion House Reforms, which could unlock up to £75bn, establishing the British Business Bank Growth Fund, and announcing the Long-term Investment for Technology and Science initiative worth £250m.

Media Literacy Task Force

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many times the Media Literacy Taskforce has met in the last 12 months.

Saqib Bhatti: The Media Literacy Taskforce provides the government with expert advice on how best to implement our Online Media Literacy Strategy. In the past 12 months we have convened the Taskforce four times. This has included meetings to seek their advice on delivery of the interventions we are funding through our Media Literacy Taskforce Fund, and to consult on research exploring citizens’ barriers to engagement with media literacy initiatives. The report from this research has been published on gov.uk.

National Security Online Information Team

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department plans to publish any of the work produced by the National Security Online Information Team.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many members of staff are currently working at the National Security Online Information Team.

Saqib Bhatti: The National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) tackles online attempts to manipulate the information environment while respecting the right to free speech, by only monitoring themes and trends - not individuals. The team is focused solely on risks posed to national security and public safety, including threats posed by foreign states as well as risks to election integrity. NSOIT is comprised of civil servants who are employed by DSIT. The team’s size and membership is adjusted according to the nature of the threat which is being faced at any one time. The work produced by NSOIT is shared with other Government departments who have an interest in its areas of focus. However, there are no plans for this work to be published or shared more widely, as this would give malign actors, including hostile states, insights into NSOIT’s capabilities and areas of focus.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Andrew Griffith: Currently across DSIT, there are three members of staff that hold roles which include the word inclusion. There is a nil return related on job titles which include the terms equality, diversity, gender, LGBT and race.The Government is auditing the cost-effectiveness of all activities that support the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) of the workforce, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.As stated in the Autumn Statement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Cabinet Office will be outlining the final proposals in response to the review in due course.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Magazine Press

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much funding her Department and the predecessor Department (a) allocated for and (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Andrew Griffith: I refer the Honourable Member to the answer given in response to PQ 15898.

Emergency Calls and Telemedicine: Digital Technology

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will provide financial assistance to vulnerable customers reliant on (a) monitoring and (b) emergency call services where their equipment has to be upgraded as a result of BT's digital switchover.

Julia Lopez: The analogue landline network, also known as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately owned network and the decision to replace it with digital landlines has been made by the telecoms industry. Government has no formal role in the switchover process. While BT owns the largest amount of PSTN lines, this upgrade is not just confined to that company. This migration is due to necessity, as the PSTN is old and increasingly prone to failure. Retaining customers on the PSTN would mean a significant long-term risk to individuals. The switchover process means that certain devices and services which rely on analogue landlines, such as some telecare alarms, will need to be replaced. Upgrading these devices will ensure that they are compatible with a more secure underlying infrastructure. Since the switchover is not led by Government, there is no designated funding available from DSIT. Where telecare devices are provided by local authorities or the NHS, these organisations will need to ensure that telecare users have compatible devices. Telecare users should contact the organisation providing their devices, to discuss what support is available to them. We also encourage concerned customers to contact their Communication Provider (such as BT or VMO2) to understand their approach to the switchover and what support is available.

Space Technology: Skilled Workers

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Space Agency’s Placements in Industry Programme includes all parts of the UK.

Andrew Griffith: The UK Space Agency’s Space Placements In Industry (SPIN) Programme is open to any space-related organisation across the UK. The UK Space Agency has engaged with the UK Space Ecosystem and local clusters spanning the entirety of the country to drive an increase in regional placements. The programme has a new student recruitment system to reduce bias, improve quality of hire, and increase diversity across the cohort.

Ministry of Justice

Burglary: Reoffenders

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9527 on Burglary: Reoffenders, whether the re-offending rate for people serving a custodial sentence for burglary has changed since that Answer.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate is for people serving a custodial sentence for shop lifting.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate is for people serving a custodial sentence for robbery.

Edward Argar: This Government is committed to tackling reoffending, and we are investing in the areas which the evidence suggests can help an individual turn their back on crime, including accommodation, employment and substance misuse treatment.We are delivering a new Prison Education Service, we are supporting ex-offenders into housing, we have changed the law so prisoners can take up apprenticeships and we are introducing Incentivised Substance-Free living wings for drug recovery.The proven reoffending rate for offenders who had an index offence of burglary and served a custodial sentence for this offence has been updated since the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9527. The rate for the latest period available, the January – March 2022 cohort, now stands at 45.6%. This is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points.The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of shop lifting (“theft from shops”) and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 80.7%.The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of robbery and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 21.7%.The overall proven reoffending rate for the January – March 2022 cohort was 25.5%.The overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22.

Police National Computer

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information on offenders his Department is able to access from the police national computer; and if he will list the fields of information that are available.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice has access to an extract of the police national computer (PNC). This extract primarily focuses on fields of information relating to individuals cautioned and/or convicted, their court cases, offences and disposals. The extract is classified as secret and making public a detailed list of fields would leave the Ministry of Justice exposed to security risk. Requests relating to the extract are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Shamima Begum

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse was for legal fees relating to the Shamima Begum case.

Mike Freer: Please note that legal aid is not paid directly to the individual in receipt of legal aid. Legal aid is paid to legal representatives to ensure access to justice.The scope of immigration and asylum matters covered by legal aid are set out at Schedule 1 to Part 1 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.In civil legal aid cases an applicant must satisfy both a merits and strict financial eligibility test to qualify for legal aid (unless a specific exemption applies). If they do not satisfy these tests, then legal aid will not be made available to them. Applicants who meet the relevant financial eligibility thresholds may still be required to pay a significant contribution towards the costs of their case. The eligibility criteria are kept under review as the case progresses and legal aid may be withdrawn where they are no longer satisfied.As at the time of writing, a total of £246,097.34 has been paid to legal aid providers in connection with representing Shamima Begum. A breakdown of these costs can be found in the table below:Case TypeMatter/ProceedingStart DateEnd DateSolicitorsBarristersTotal CostsCivil rep - ImmigrationSpecial Immigration Appeals Commission - Asylum15/04/2019-£0.00£238,000.34£238,000.34Civil rep - Public LawAction for Judicial Review - Pub Law23/08/2021-£8,097.00£0.00£8,097.00Total   £8,097.00£238,000.34£246,097.34The costs include VAT and disbursements where applicable. Disbursements are expenses incurred which although paid by the Legal Aid Agency directly to legal aid providers, are then paid to other parties involved in the case.

Prison Service: Staff

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison service HQ staff work on project (a) management and (b) delivery; and what grades those staff are.

Edward Argar: In-Post resource on projects and programmes varies month to month. It is therefore only possible to provide a snapshot figure from quarterly programme resource data (last updated January 2024).The below is an approximate breakdown of Project Delivery roles on current Projects. We cannot easily disaggregate between HMPPS and MoJ staff and so have include both in the below figures.Whitehall GradeFTE in postEO33HEO58SEO93G763G631Grand Total278

Ministry of Justice: Vacancies

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.

Mike Freer: Justice Digital has 173 approved vacancies. This represents 9.6% of 1808 that are FTE. 138.4 of these roles are on the Government Digital and Data framework.These figures do not include HMCTS, but do include executive agencies and arms length bodies across the Ministry of Justice, including HMPPS.

Prison and Probation Service: Managers

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of new senior management posts at HM Prison and Probation Service were created via the One HMPPS project.

Edward Argar: We are committed through the OneHMPPS Strategic Portfolio to reduce HMPPS Head Quarters (HQ) cost and improve operational outcomes. As part of this, we launched the new HMPPS Area Model on 2 October 2023, bringing probation regions and prison groups together under six geographical areas in England, plus Wales, each led by a Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 2 (SCS2) Area Executive Director. As part of the new model, four existing SCS2s assumed the roles, and three SCS2 posts were created.Through the HQ redesign, we are focused on making HQ more efficient, reducing duplication and making the best use of our people. We have now completed the HQ redesign following Trade Union consultation and intend implementation to be complete by Autumn. This has resulted in an overall decrease of four Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 1s (SCS1) in FY 2024/25. The redesign also assumes a further reduction of five SCS1s in future when temporary roles cease.

Prisons and Secure Accommodation: Education

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on implementing digital learning (a) tools and (b) technology in the education services of the (i) youth and (ii) adult secure estate.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to (a) assess and (b) address the (i) educational needs and l(ii) earning disabilities of people on the secure estate.

Edward Argar: A range of starting-point assessments are used to determine needs, including in relation to English and mathematics; neurodiversity; reading; and employment/career goals.Between 45,000 and 65,000 of these assessments are carried out each year. Duplication is avoided by storing the results digitally, so that they are accessible in every establishment. Each establishment determines, and reviews annually, a curriculum to meet these needs. From 2022, prisoners’ progress has been tracked digitally through individual Personal Learning Plans (PLPs). In 2023-24 to date, approximately 40,000 PLPs have been opened.The Digital Prisons Service will create a prison-wide, standardised process for capturing and reviewing prisoner’s developmental goals, bringing together information on prisoner’s education, skills and work journey from various systems into one central place. A single platform tracking progress will ensure that prisoners benefit from information and goals being easily accessible, and able to follow them when they transfer to another prison.HM Prison Service is utilising approximately 2500 Coracle laptops across the prison estate. 85 prisons are able to allocate laptops to support prison learners. The laptops, which are designed for safe off-line use, facilitate greater in-cell education provision and improve access to learning outside of the classroom. In addition, learners who need extra support materials for the main core education courses, or who wish to pursue further study out of class hours, are able to access Open University courses.We have procured digital learning content specifically to address the needs of prisoners, focusing on improving literacy and expanding the range of subjects available digitally for learners. This content will be coming on-line for testing in prisons in Spring 2024, and will be made available in all prisons across England & Wales.In the Youth Estate, learners in YOIs have access in classrooms to on-line content via the Virtual Campus system, to enhance their learning by allowing them access to current, relevant information. They are also able to continue their learning when not in class, using laptops on which educational content has been uploaded. This includes text and video-based learning modules.

Secure Accommodation: Education and Training

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which external (a) educational and (b) vocational training providers work in the secure estate.

Edward Argar: There are four main education providers across the adult secure estate in England. Milton Keynes College, Novus, People Plus and Weston College provide the majority of education services, including vocational delivery.Education in Welsh establishments includes both public and private-sector provision. At HMP Cardiff, HMP Swansea, HMP Usk and HMP Prescoed, education is delivered by HMPPS staff. At HMP Berwyn, education is provided by Novus Cambria, which is a joint venture between Coleg Cambria and LTE Group (Novus). HMP & YOI Parc also has a private education provider, Novus Gower, which is a joint venture between Gower College and LTE Group (Novus).In addition to this provision, Governors in England have access to 469 organisations that provide education services, including vocational delivery. Wales also has access to a range of other education providers, including the Prison Education Trust, Shannon Trust, the Open University, and vocational training providers such as Safety Counts, Simian Training, GLA Group and Future Skills.

Prison Accommodation: Lighting

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison cells housing the (a) general prison population and (b) segregation population do not allow direct access to (i) artificial lighting sufficient for reading and (ii) natural light.

Edward Argar: The Certified Prisoner Accommodation framework outlines the minimum requirements for prison accommodation, including that electric lighting must be installed and functional, and there must be natural light.All accommodation in the prison estate is required to be certified by a senior operational manager as meeting this standard before it can be used to hold prisoners overnight.

Probation Service: Sick Leave

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many stress-related sick day absences were recorded for probation staff in 2023.

Edward Argar: In the year to 31 December 2023, there were 2,603 separate instances of sickness for Probation Service staff where the main sickness reason given was 'stress'. Over the same period, there were 20,083 staff on average working in the probation service.HMPPS is focused on reducing its sickness absence rates through the support currently offered to staff and managers, including a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides the workforce with access to confidential support & counselling services. This is in addition to the organisation’s Occupational Health Service that supports staff & management with medical advice, and HMPPS’ multitude of staff networks that are part of HMPPS’ commitment to ensuring our staff feel supported in their roles.HMPPS is actively reviewing its approach to staff wellbeing to strengthen the wellbeing offer. Managers support employees who are unwell and are provided HR casework support to appropriately manage employee absence in line with established policies & procedures.

Prison Accommodation: Overcrowding

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison cells that are occupied by two prisoners have less than 8m² living space, excluding space dedicated to sanitary facilities, broken down by prison.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison cells occupied by three prisoners have less than 12m² living space, excluding space dedicated to sanitary facilities, broken down by prison.

Edward Argar: HMPPS does not systematically record cell dimensions. The Certified Prisoner Accommodation Framework outlines the minimum requirements for prison accommodation, including the requirement that a cell must be of sufficient size for its inhabitants to sleep, dress, undress, eat meals, and for seating, circulation and movement. All accommodation in the prison estate is required to be certified by a senior operational manager as meeting this standard before it can be used to hold prisoners overnight.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers who volunteer as part of operation tornado there are are in each prison as of 27 February 2024.

Edward Argar: Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:In response to a serious incident requiring a reinforcement of staff.In response to other events or crisis requiring additional staff, who may not necessarily need to be Tornado trained.To aid the transfer of prisoners in the event of a serious incident or the threat of one (with the GOLD commander’s agreement).The information requested can be found in the table attached. This information is collected every two weeks, and is dated from 22/02/2024.A large number of specialist team callouts are for non-violent or confrontational issues and this data includes instances where a request for assistance was later deemed unnecessary.15927_table (xlsx, 18.6KB)

Prison and Probation Service: Managers

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the management structure is of the counter corruption unit in HM Prison and Probation Service; and how many people there are at each (a) grade and (b) specialism in the management structure.

Edward Argar: Our Counter-Corruption Unit proactively detects, disrupts and deters activities of those suspected of wrongdoing. The unit supports prisons and probation services, with specialist staff working alongside the police to support their investigations.The table below provides the total target staffing figure by each grade:GradeTotalBand 101Band 93Band 812.28Band 65Band 561Band 460Band 310 All staff within the management structure have counter corruption specialism.

Domestic Abuse: Prisoners' Release

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the statutory eligibility criteria in section 4.3.1 of his Department's publication on the home detention curfew (HDC), published on 6 June 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the list of people excluded from eligibility for release under the HDC scheme to include individuals convicted of a domestic abuse offence.

Edward Argar: In June 2023, we introduced further restrictions on which offenders can be released on HDC by adding offences linked to domestic abuse to our presumed unsuitable list. Being presumed unsuitable means an application for HDC will not even be considered unless there are exceptional circumstances for the individual offender. We added offences linked to domestic abuse – including harassment and stalking.

Prisoners

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the most recent data is that his Department holds on the number of (a) unreleased people and (b) recalled people serving a serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection.

Edward Argar: The most recent data was published in the Department’s Offender Management Statistics Quarterly on 31 December 2023. As of that date, there were a total of 2,852 prisoners serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection in custody, comprising 1,227 unreleased people and 1,625 recalled people.The next publication is due on 25 April 2024 and will publish prison population figures as of 31 March 2024. The publication will be accessible using the following link: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).We have significantly reduced the number of IPP prisoners since we scrapped the sentence in 2012 and have taken decisive action to curtail licence periods to give rehabilitated people the opportunity to move on with their lives.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of staff available for operation tornado duty have (a) completed full training and (b) in-date control and restraint training.

Edward Argar: Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:In response to a serious incident requiring a reinforcement of staff.In response to other events or crisis requiring additional staff, who may not necessarily need to be Tornado trained.To aid the transfer of prisoners in the event of a serious incident or the threat of one (with the GOLD commander’s agreement).1511 staff are available for Operation Tornado. 100% of staff available for Operation Tornado have completed full training. 100% of staff available for Operation Tornado are in date with control and restraint training.Any staff who have not completed Tornado training or are not in date with control and restraint training are not available for Operation Tornado.

Secure Accommodation: Education

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department uses feedback from individuals within the secure estate to improve the (a) relevance and (b) quality of educational programmes.

Edward Argar: Education providers use feedback from learners to improve the relevance and quality of educational programmes. Learner feedback is requested at the end of each course, and feeds into the quality assurance process. A needs analysis is undertaken annually, and is used to inform the curriculum design for the establishment. In addition, “Learner Voice” is a co-operative approach between teachers and learners to include shared decision-making and evaluation of educational content, to drive improvement and progress. This is carried out regularly, through “Learner Walks” (classroom observations), Learner Voice surveys, learner focus groups and a peer mentor structure.

Prosecutions: Training

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the training required of investigators employed by statutory bodies with the authority to undertake prosecutions external to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mike Freer: Private prosecutions, which are started by a private individual or an entity who is not acting on behalf of the police or other prosecuting authority, are an important and necessary part of the justice system. There is value in victims of crime being able to bring their own prosecutions and not every offence worth prosecuting can be prosecuted by the CPS, SFO or other public authority.Any private prosecutor must comply with the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 which sets out the rules for bringing a prosecution. All legal duties on prosecutors regarding their conduct of a case apply regardless of whether it is a public or a private prosecution, including the rules on disclosure and the law of evidence. As outlined in the Private Prosecutors’ Association voluntary Code for Private Prosecutors, investigators who are tasked with obtaining evidence should seek, where possible, to comply with the same codes of practice and guidance as apply to law enforcement investigators.Whilst the Government believes that private prosecutions are an important and necessary part of the judicial system, we are examining the wider question of private prosecutions and have committed to looking again at the Justice Select Committee’s recommendations in their 2020 report as part of this work, including the recommendation to introduce an inspection regime for organisations which bring significant numbers of private prosecutions to ensure investigations and prosecutions are subject to the same standards as their public counterparts.

Water Companies: Fines

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much and what proportion of fines issued to water companies were uncollected in each year since 2010.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice does hold data on uncollected fines. However, we do not hold a list of all existing and previous water companies and would need to be supplied with this in order to conduct a search.

Probate: Digital Technology

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) digitising and (b) not physically storing probate documents on the accessibility of the justice system to litigants.

Mike Freer: The Government has recently concluded a consultation on storage and preservation of wills. We will be publishing the response later this year, and this will address these issues and consider possible options for reform.

Ministry of Justice: Magazine Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Mike Freer: The Department is unable to answer within the disproportionate cost threshold as the Ministry of Justice does not hold central financial records in relation to magazine subscriptions.

Powers of Attorney

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average turnaround time is for access codes to be checked when dealing with enquiries where a claimant is subject to Power of Attorney.

Mike Freer: When a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) application is registered and dispatched, the donor and attorneys also receive information containing an activation key. This activation key enables the donor and attorneys to create a gov.uk account for the ‘Use my LPA’ service. Using the service, donors and attorneys can create an access code and share it with third parties (e.g. banks, hospitals, other government departments). Third parties can then use the access code to view the LPA online and check if the LPA is valid or not.The access code is valid for 30 days, after which point the donor or attorneys can request a new access code if the third party has not viewed the LPA during that period. The donor and/or attorneys can see online if the third party has viewed the LPA.The ‘Use my LPA’ service which donors or attorneys use to create access codes is a live digital service. Third parties then using the code to view LPAs is also a live digital service. There are therefore no average turnaround times for needing to check access codes.

Ministry of Justice: Equality

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff in their Department have job titles that include the words (a) equality, (b) diversity, (c) inclusion, (d) gender, (e) LGBT and (f) race.

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff in (a) HM Prison and Probation Service, (b) HM Courts and Tribunals Service, (c) the Crown Prosecution Service and (d) the Legal Aid Agency have job titles which include the words (i) equality, (ii) diversity, (iii) inclusion, (iv) gender, (v) LGBT and (vi) race.

Mike Freer: It would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold to ascertain the facts across the Ministry of Justice and its 35 public bodies.

Legal Profession: Trade Unions

Kim Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require law firms to recognise trade unions.

Mike Freer: The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 outlines the process for recognising a trade union.If trade unions wish to be recognised by a law firm, then they may follow the standard procedure in place. Information on this procedure can be found here: Employers: recognise a trade union: When the union requests recognition - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The legal profession and its regulation are independent of government, and there are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require law firms to recognise trade unions.

Television Licences: Prosecutions

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) tried and (b) prosecuted for non-payment of a TV licence in 2023.

Gareth Bacon: I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 29 February to Question 15067: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-02-21/15067.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Magazine Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Steve Baker: The Northern Ireland Office has not allocated or spent any funding on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Magazine Press

Dame Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office can confirm that it has incurred the following costs in relation to the subscriptions below over the last three financial years;  SubscriptionFY 21-22FY 22-23FY 23-24 £££Press and Journal606060The Courier606060The Financial Times278319319The Herald808080The Spectator13188100The Telegraph208208191The Times312312260The Scotsman1000130Total1,229 1,127 1,200